1 




. •■>■-..>■• . ■;: 







><'*« 




LANDVOIEGLEE : 



OR 



VIEWS ACROSS THE SEA. 



A NEW EDITION OF THE "OLD WORLD." 



BY 



WILLIAM FURNISS 



WITH A MAP AND NUMEROUS TINTED LITHOGRAPHS. 




NEW-YORK: 
D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 200 BROADWAY. 

PHILADELPHIA : 
GEO. S. APPLETON, 164 CHESNUT-STREET. 

M.DCCC.L. 



h/o, /. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1849, by 

WILLIAM FURNISS, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
District of New- York. 



PREFACE. 



The reader must not expect from the " Old World " 
any egotistical prologue about the necessities, virtues, 
or occasions of the author. We wrote because we 
liked to ; and among the retrospects of travel we 
found repose and consolation after the toils of daily- 
professional labor. That, "labor ipse voluptas," has 
brought forth the fruits of our wanderings from Eng- 
land and across the Continent, by way of the Danube 
to Stamboul and Alexandria. We have sought to give 
raciness to the style, agreeableness to the substance. 

We trust that with the author, his readers, both 
those who are his friends, and those with whom he 
seeks to be acquainted in this form, may come to the 
conclusion of Solomon, that there is nothing new 
under the sun ; and, that all Americans may rest in 



IV PREFACE. 

that happy conceit, which boasts of the superior con- 
dition of the New World, in the three cardinal points 
of a nation's glory — the general diffusion of the com- 
forts and conveniences of life, the diffusion of educa- 
tion among the people, and the universal enjoyment 
of civil and religious liberty. 

In the heartfelt desire of attaining to that happy 
result of the poet, 

" Omne tulit punctum, qui miscuit utile, cum dulci," 

I place this book upon the broad surface of public 
opinion. I close by the suggestion, that these coun- 
tries were visited prior to the Revolutions of 1848, 
(an explanation due to the republican sympathies of 
every American) ; and that, to those events which 
have subsequently occurred, so as to completely change 
the political aspect of the world, there was found a 
cordial supporter, although not a personal witness, in 

the 

AUTHOR. 

Bloomingdale, N. Y., 
January, 1850. 



CONTENTS. 



ENGLAND. 



Liverpool 

Chester 

Warwick Castle . 

Stratford-on-Avon 

Oxford . 

London 

London Sights . 

Dover 



PAGE 

15 
17 
21 
24 
27 
29 
33 
40 



Holland 
Ostend 
Antwerp . 



THE CONTINENT. 



42 
43 

44 



Brussels 



BELGIUM. 



49 



Paris 
St. Cloud 
St. Denis 
Fontainebleau 
Lyons 



FRANCE. 



55 
58 
63 
64 
67 



V) 



CONTENTS. 



SWITZERLAND. 



Geneva . 

Mont Blanc . 

Martigny 

Vevay 

Berne 

Bernese Oberlands 

Saint Gothard Road 

Righi Culm . 

Basle 

Heidelburg . 

Frankfort-on-Main 

The Rhine . 

Cologne . 



• • • 

• » • 

• • • 

• • • 

• - • • 

m m • 



PAGE 

70 
72 
73 

74 
80 
83 
89 
93 
96 
97 
99 
100 
102 



HOLLAND. 



Amsterdam 
La Haag . 
Rotterdam 
Saardam . 
Brock 
Hamburg 



104 
109 
112 
114 
116 
119 



Copennagen . 



DENMARK. 



123 



Stettin 
Berlin 
Potsdam . 



PRUSSIA. 



• • 



131 
132 
135 



Leipsig 
Dresden . 
Saxon Switzerland 



SAXONY. 



140 
141 
143 



CONTENTS. 



Vll 



Prague . 



BOHEMIA. 



PAGE 
148 



Ratisbon . 

Munich 

Augsburg 



BAVARIA. 



151 
152 
155 



Innspruch 
Salzburg 



TYROL. 



161 

164 



fschl 
Vienna 



AUSTRIA. 



169 
171 



Danube sail 

Presburg 

Pesth 

Semblin 

Orsova 

Gallatz 



VOYAGE TO CONSTANTINOPLE. 



183 

184 
187 
189 
192 
196 



TURKEY. 



Bosphorus 

Stamboul 

Pera 

Bazaars 

Mosque . 

Goksu 

Sights 

Eyoub 



201 
204 
207 
211 
213 
215 
217 
218 



Vlll 




CONTENTS. 




PAGE 


Firman . 


• r • 


. . 


• • 


. 221 


Gossip 


. 




• • 


232 


Sorties 


• 


. . 


• • 


. 234 


Bairaam 


. 




• • 


240 


St. Stephano 


. . 


• • 


• • 


. 246 


Koran 


. 




• • 


251 


Manners and Customs 


. # 


• • 


. 253 


Houses 


. 




• 4 


254 


Baths 


. , 


, . 


• • 


. 257 


Street Life 


. 




• • 


260 



VOYAGE TO EGYPT. 



Sail through the Archipelago 
Rhodes 



2G5 
274 



TEN DAYS IN THE LAZARETTO. 



Quarantine 
Motley Company 
Officials 
Purifications . 
Salutations . 

Escape 



280 
282 
284 
286 
288 
290 



IX 



%\A nf SiltrstrxxtxnttB* 

MONT BLANC, ALPS. 

MER DES GLACES, MONTAVERT. 
. LAKE LEMAN, FROM VEVAY. 

FALLS OF THE AAR 
VLAKE OF THE FOUR CANTONS. 
.' LAKE OF LOWERTZ, SCHWEITZ. 

BASTEI, SAXON SWITZERLANDS. 
/ THE ELBE, BELOW SCHANDAU. 

BAVARIAN ALPS, TYROL. 

ACHERNSEE, BAVARIAN TYROL. 

BERCHTESGARTEN, NEAR KONIGSEE. 

HOF, IN AUSTRIAN TYROL. 

jEGILE, ON THE DANUBE. 

MOUTH OF THE BOSPHORUS. 

HARBOR OF RHODES. 

ROOM EN LAZARETTO. 



6q 



Andorra, (Spain,) W<> 

Belgium, (with-Luxemburg G-C) ... 13. 519 

Cracow 4yc/ 

4Benmar&MolStein,&c. G.C.J 59,762 

Trance 202,125 

(England 

Great ) Wales 

U .-. )' Scotland, 
Britain, I _ _ , 
y Ireland, 

Greece 

's&jxhalt JSernberg 

law •• Coethen, 

Dessau, 

Austria (about ■%) German) 255 , 226 

Baden, 5,722 

Bavaria 28.435 

Bremen, ®7 

Brunswick 1,525 

Frankfort 



5 
6 

7 

10 
U 

12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
27 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
21 
2& 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
38 
37 
38 
3.9 
40 
M 
42 
43 
44 



49, S3 9 

11.500 

26,782 

27,908 

10,206 

336 

320 

333 



Bkniburg 



149 



Hanover J4.690 

Sesse, Cosset 4,386 

Barrnstadt 3,198 

Hamburg -£< 154 

HonenxoUern-JEgchzngerv 2 136 

Sigmaringen 383 

Idchenstein, oSr 

Lippe^Betmoldy 436 

Schauenoerg 205 

LiJ>eo ■ MZ 

JHeckletiburo SeTuvej'in, » 4,701 

StreOtz 1094 

JfassaiL 2,736 

Oldenlnirg 2.470 

Prussia, (about % German,) 106.302^ 

Meuss (Lobstein&Greitz) , 1 

Saxony ^ 

SaxeAlteriburg 

Coburg StGotha, 

•• Mezningeix, SildbergTuutsen 

Weimar Eiseixaeh, J. 403 

JntrtemJntrg 7.568 



15, 300 
' 4.320.000 
124.300 
2,300.000 
36,200,000 
14,995,508 
911, 321 
2,628,957 
8,500.000 
1,050,000 
45.500 
37.300 
57, 600 
37,000,000 
1,141,727 
4,300.000 
57, 800 
250,000 
56,000 
253, OOi 
2,679.006 
699,006 
765, 00 t 
24.001 
22.001 




48S0\ 

5,80i 




THE OLD WORLD. 



-4 -«<+*»-»- 



It was high noon of Sunday, the 16th of May, when 
we sailed out of Boston, in the good steamer Caledonia. 
No day could be more propitious; the winds were 
blowing free and fresh, and all our passengers were 
on the quarter-deck, watching the distant, now dim, 
and at last fading outlines of the yclept " Athens of 
America." 

Outside, the sea became rough, and dark clouds 
passed over the hitherto serene sky of noon. The up- 
turned ocean sported wildly with the ship's sides, to the 
worriment of our poor stomachs. Vaunting and exult- 
ing landsmen were soon " sicklied o'er with pale cast 
of visage," at the bare mention of that dreaded phan- 
tom, sea-sickness, The most desponding grow desper- 
ate ; and, taking violent hold of the bannisters, plunge 
furiously down the gangway, and fall exhausted into 



14 ARRIVAL AT LIVERPOOL. 

bed. Night closes upon a few stubborn salts on deck, 
who remain quietly smoking in the cuddy. 

Two days of damp, foggy, and heavy weather were 
a fit preparation for our entrance into Halifax bay. In 
four hours we landed, and took in our mails, and were 
off again to sea. No sooner out of port than the winds 
changed to fresh and fair, and our vessel was directed 
to he?- points for the voyage, the monotony of which 
was only relieved by the sight of a whale, and a view 
of another of the company's steam-ships, a few days 
out of Liverpool. 

On Saturday, the 29th, the Welsh and Irish coasts 
were gladly watched during the whole day. Off Holy- 
head we took our pilot, under whose guidance we ran 
up the Mersey in gallant style, with a strong tide favor- 
ing us, and landed at the wharf about eleven o'clock, 
p. m., having first passed our valises under the eye of 
the custom-house officer. 

We lodged at the quiet and comfortable " Waterloo" 
in Ranelagh-street, kept by Mr. Lynn, famous for his 
compositions of meat gravies and sauces, and were 
welcomed to our inn by as smart and pretty-looking 
bar-maids as ever graced the inside of frilled caps. 
There is no resisting the exorbitant bill thrust at you 
by one of these pretty maids ; and, as she lisps out, 
" only one pound six, for the day, sir," you have no 
resource but to pay up, take her " thank ye, sir," and 



CITY OF LIVERPOOL, 15 

a kiss, if you can. We stepped right gladly into those 
snug beds after two restless weeks at sea, and fell asleep 
with a confused dreaming of bar-maids and England, 
our overcome sea-sickness, and our homes. 

Next morning we rode all over the city, and down 
to the docks, probably the finest in the world, and so 
snugly constructed that all the shipping lies unobserved 
within their walls, and precludes an adequate idea of 
the vast commerce of Liverpool. The rapid rise of 
the tides renders them indispensable, and they afford 
ample shelter and protection from storm or accident. 

At Birkenhead we took the ferry for Wood side, 
and, in passing, obtained a fine outline of the city's 
form. We were much amused at the numerous little 
low black steam-tugs which ply as ferries to various 
points ; such determination appeared in the puffing, 
spirited little monsters, which in all respects resembled 
our horse paddle-boats, save their bright fire-red chim- 
neys, which exposed their smoke and their motive 
power. 

From Woodside ferry we walked to its " Park," a 
large extent of ground laid out in shrubbery and shade- 
trees, and figured in every variety of hill and dale, ar- 
tificial water and bridge, pagoda and palace, by which 
it is possible to convert nature into landscape garden- 
ing. Some poor deluded natives resort hither to enjoy 
this fiction of rural felicity, and get up pastorals over 



16 STREET SCENES. 

the frog-ponds ; and, if 1 mistake not, we disturbed the 
tender hours of a groom, who was wooing his mistress's 
chambermaid under a Chinese bridge. One is sur- 
prised at the tameness of the sparrows, which fly unmo- 
lested about the most frequented streets of the city and 
its environs. 

On our return, we visited those quarters of the city 
inhabited by the poor. What misery presented itself 
in every nook and corner ! Gin-shops under the omi- 
nous titles of " wine vaults," " spirit vaults," abound, 
with all their gilt and glare, amidst the squalid houses 
which support them. Their inhabitants are crowded 
into every cellar and alley-way ; the poor beset you at 
every step. Public inns become the prescriptive alms- 
right of the more hardened beggar. Strangers are sin- 
gled out and attacked. Vice stalks at night, and shame- 
lessly demands the wages of sin ; whilst lust, chained 
to hunger, hurry their victims to the grave. Never 
was misery so universal. Such scenes offer a strong 
contrast to the wealth of this great commercial mart. 

On Monday we found our fellow-passengers at the 
customs, undergoing strict scrutiny of baggage. These 
examinations are the bugbears of travellers, and you 
have to submit with a good grace. This mere formality 
is overcome by a ready delivery of keys. All tobacco 
and English reprints are especially forbidden ; but by 
a quiet fee to the porter, and another to the steward, 



CHESTER. 17 

one manages to get off without further difficulty. Hav- 
ing obtained our baggage, we returned to the hotel, and 
made preparations for our departure for Chester. 

On crossing the Mersey to Birkenhead, our atten- 
tion was called to a singular illustration of the equality 
of color in England. On board was a very respectable 
negro, escorting an elegantly-dressed white lady, who 
was fondling a molasses-colored baby, their mutual off- 
spring. 

A few minutes' walk brought us to the railroad sta- 
tion for Chester, and we were conveyed, in about two 
hours, through the darkness of the night, to the walls 
of this famous and curious old town. We took a fly, 
and were soon landed under the arcades of the Albion. 
Our landlady, with usual English inn civility, ushered 
us up to snug quarters in her attic, provided with those 
little comforts which so peculiarly invite on new ac- 
quaintance with one's chamber; where, after having 
eyed all to my satisfaction, I retained no further recol- 
lections of that night, from the time I mounted a small 
pair of stairs to a very fat bed, and was soon wrapt in 
a dream about some queer old gable ends of a very 
quaint old town, caught by moonlight, mixed up with 
visions of boots and hot water in the morning. 

By early dawn we were out, and seeing the quaint 
and funny town of Chester. There never was a place 
made up of such odds and ends. It is a curious, and 



18 WALLED TOWN OF CHESTER. 

about the only, relic of the walled towns of " Old Eng- 
land." It is a singular patchwork of Saxon antiquity, 
Roman cohorts, middle-aged persecution, and modern 
improvements. Here a bit of railroad, there a bit of 
church. Now walls overtopping houses give sly winks 
into private bed-rooms, and crowd out bits of the town ; 
then pieces of town hang over the walls, where strag- 
gling abutments thrust out their elbows over the ditch. 
Here a Roman hot-bath, there a Saxo-Gothic cathe- 
dral. Beyond, three rows of galleries peep curiously 
over the street, and almost project to the opposite piaz- 
zas ; anon, the streets themselves lose their way among 
this labyrinth of crazy tenements, whilst the whole vil- 
lage is jumbled in such wild confusion of shapes and 
design, as if the ancient carpenter who built here had 
taken his houses and thrown them at random on the 
parish. 

To appreciate it fully, you must walk all round the 
lines which encompass it ; enjoy the fresh and glowing 
landscape of the champaign and broken country ; watch 
the meanderings of the river Dee ; and admire the 
noble freedom of that superb bridge, of a single arch, 
which spans its quiet waters. See how well pre- 
served are these mural defences ! One becomes en- 
thusiastic, antiquarian, in spite of himself; and so 
would I, had not the cravings of appetite called me 
back to " mine inn." 



ETON HALL. 19 

Whilst breakfasting, we had rather an amusing 
conversation with a nice old Welsh lady, on America 
and its people ; in which she showed a woful degree 
of ignorance, besides coming to this conclusion : that 
my fat friend was English, because stout; and I, 
American, from my natural infirmity of being slender. % 
After which, we took a cab for Eton Hall ; having 
first been warned of the necessity of feeing the gate- t 
keeper, if he showed any disposition to shut us out. 
Into this seat, belonging to the Earl of Westminster, 
we entered, by its pretty new lodge. At first the 
porter was stern in his refusal, but was easily quieted 
by our prepared half-crown. You approach the man- 
sion by a long avenue of forest shade, and ride a mile 
through its beautiful park. As the house was in re- 
pair, we saw nothing, save the garden, but were well 
repaid by a look at the plan of that which is properly 
called Landscape Gardening, and generally adopted 
in all ornamental grounds attached to noble estates. 
The end of this art is, to unite trees of different 
varieties, in graceful and pleasing groups : so as by 
difference of foliage, and dispositions of light and 
shade, to produce harmonious and pleasing general 
effects. A certain portion of land, near the mansion, 
is usually laid out in shrubbery, intermixed with shade- 
trees, and encircled by beds of flowers, also arranged 
with a view to a happy disposition of color and effect. 



20 BIRMINGHAM. 

Beyond the " Hall," under a neatly constructed porch, 
we observed a well preserved Roman relic, which, 
evidently, had been an altar dedicated to the nymphs 
of the fountain near which it was discovered. This 
whole country bears indications of the presence of the 
"Roman Legion." 

We returned thence, and took the morning train 
for Birmingham, via Clewes. Our ride through the 
many way stations, gave us a fleeting view of the 
surrounding country; and, as the sunlight, flitting 
over hill and dale, was alternately obscured and re- 
lieved by passing clouds, its effects on the landscape 
were highly picturesque. The vivid green of velvet 
lawns, the rich verdure of the rolling plain, and the 
strict preservation of shade-trees, with the careful cul- 
ture of the farms, and tidy look of the neatly-trimmed 
hawthorn hedges, lent a peculiar charm to the aspect 
of that fertile district. 

At Birmingham, we stopped at the " Royal/' the 
new hotel of the railroad company ; and thence, 
started out to view the sights of this mammoth 
manufactory. Here I first felt the influence of a 
dense population, and watched its movements, until 
lost in the wilderness of its streets ; — so absorbed was 
I in the contemplation of the wretched condition of 
its crowded and overworked inhabitants, and the dis- 
parity between the estate of the laborer and that of 



WARWICKSHIRE WARWICK CASTLE. 21 

those who fatten on. the fruits of his industry. An 
artisan only can revel in the smoke and steam of this 
city. 

Out of clatter, smoke, and monumental chimneys, 
and away by the cars for Leamington, England's 
great Spa, the resort of fashion and blood, in the very 
heart of Warwickshire ; then up to the doors of the 
" Regents," and hire a fly, and away to the castle. 
I was fortunate in meeting my companions, who had 
preceded me to Warwick Lodge. After passing 
through the gate, from the road cut through solid rock, 
the noble form of this turreted castle burst suddenly 
in view ; and is by far the boldest and most pictur- 
esque sight one has of this antique pile, clustering with 
its masses of ivy. We passed through the inner gate 
into the hall, and were shown about by the house- 
keeper, who acted as cicerone for visitors. She had 
all the paintings, armories and furniture of the palace, 
properly catalogued in her memory. Although we 
were bored by her particularities, we feared to disturb 
her order, lest she might return to her beginning. 
From the palace, we passed to the Beauchamp Tower, 
whence we enjoyed a glorious panorama of the sur- 
rounding country. Beyond the garden, in the green- 
house, the famous Warwick vase was shown, and a 
description of its fall and damage most faithfully de- 
scribed by the gardener, for which an extra fe* 



22 ST. MARY S CHURCH. 

The whole aspect of the castle is imposing, and its 
landscapes are charming. Here is that varied beauty 
which harmonizes in the unison of art with nature, 
and fills both mind and eye with satisfaction. You 
are carried back to the days of English chivalry ; his- 
torical associations hallow this spot ; and memory 
reverts to the olden time, when " king-maker War- 
wick " ruled this domain, which Queen Bess thought 
more suited to a monarch than a subject. 

St Mary's Church, belonging to the family, is an 
object of special interest, from its many curious relics 
and monuments, illustrating the history of those 
" merrie days of England." It is prized for having been 
Queen Anne's private chapel, the interior decorations of 
which are truly curious and precious. Here, I first 
observed those marble sarcophagi of warriors in state ; 
monuments which afford such curious pictures of their 
day, that they may be studied, with advantage, by an- 
tiquary and artist. 

Ere this, our party was wrought to a high pitch 
of enthusiasm, occasioned by the novelty of these 
sights ; and nothing would discharge their zest, but a 
visit to a printman, to obtain drawings of interiors of 
church and castle : so anxious were we to exhaust his 
stock, that lots were drawn as to who should be first 
served. I have often thought of that scene, and of 
the nature of that shopkeeper's after-thoughts. No 



RUINS OF KENILWORTH. 23 

doubt he felt the advantage which he possessed, of 
being nearer than many of his brethren to the locale 
of that freshness and eagerness for purchase, which 
wears off as experience and travel increase, and the 
coin in one's purse grows low. 

We calmed down, in that ride to Kenilworth, 
which led through one of those pretty, quiet bridle- 
paths often met with here. One is not fully sensible 
of the powerful impress of these ruins, until fairly 
within their crumbling walls. There is a poetic and 
ethereal fervor which electrifies the mind, when 
brought to the perception of the mouldering and fallen 
fabrics of the past, not unlike those phosphoric emis- 
sions which shine from the core of decaying matter. 
One's sympathies are irresistibly enlisted in their favor. 
A sense of departed greatness, the recollections of 
those glorious days of pomp and tournament, the 
mournful lesson of human frailty ; all unite to hallow 
the sight of this spot, and make it difficult to remove 
from the contemplation of what was magic in its crea- 
tion, and yet still beautiful in ruin. 

We passed thence to Stoneleigh Abbey, so called 
from the present Lord Leigh, who erected his palace 
over the walls of an ancient monastery. The ap- 
proach was through a charming woodland park and 
garden. The cloisters of the court still remain, indi- 
cating their Saxon origin by the peculiar oval of that 



24 LEAMINGTON STRATFORD-ON-AVON. 

arch ; and the new hall still, retains part of the wain- 
scoting round the refectory formerly used by the 
monks. 

The collection of paintings and statuary is well 
selected ; the interior decorations and furniture of the 
most costly kind. Our return home, by a different 
road, gave us new and more pleasing views of the 
abundance of this fertile shire. We spent the rest 
of the day in strolling about the charming village of 
Leamington, the resort of the nobility and fashion. 
Its edifices are of so costly a character, that it has 
been termed, a city of palaces. The waters of this 
Spa come lukewarm from the fount, and in bitterness 
of taste surpass the most revolting species of horse 
salts. 

Our jaunty tilbury rattles to the door, drawn by 
two spirited bays, and led by a mounted postillion 
^with red coat, jockey-cap, and " tops ;" then, with a 
snap of the whip, we are off for Stratford-on-Avon. 
The very horses seemed touched with the spirit of the 
party, and as our gay postillion rose and fell in his 
saddle, he jockeyed as gracefully as if for fox or steeple 
chase. One hour or so brings us to the " White 
Lion " of Stratford, close to the quarters of the im- 
mortal bard. We first drank long draughts of our 
landlord's bitter ale, and then walked a few steps to 
the " House of William Shakspeare," so painted on 



SHAKSPEARE HOUSE. 25 

its pendant sign. We took in every word which our 
cicerone related ; and would have fought any one who 
questioned the authenticity of the spot. The very air 
was scented with the breathings of his rnuse : we be- 
lieve that sign ; and, if any one doubts it, we took a 
copy of it. Few, indeed, are the relics of the poet, or 
his chattels within. Descendants have divided what 
strangers have not robbed. The walls are obscured 
by ten thousand names of scribblers. How few re- 
flect, when gratifying their own vanity under a spe- 
cious tribute to the dramatist, that the flies of summer 
may also drop their own insignificant ciphers, and 
burst the bubble of such ephemeral immortality. The 
floor and beams alone remain of what was once the 
bard's. .Much more satisfaction is derived from visit- 
ing the poet's tomb, in that village church on the 
banks of the gentle Avon. The very grave-digger in 
the yard, performing his duties at a grave, reminded 
me of the churchyard scene in Hamlet ; and, when 
you cross the greensward, under the oriel window of 
the transept, to sit down on the banks of Avon, 

" Where our own Shakspeare. nature's child. 
Warbled his native woodnotes wild." 

you almost fancy the brook to be that in which Ophelia 
was drowned, or the swan of Avon floating on the 
bosom of those waters. 



26 WOODSTOCK. 

We hired a boat and rowed on the river, to become 
more familiar with its dreamy shores ; whilst the illu- 
sion was livelily sustained by a cup of "good old sack," 
with the host of the " Black Swan," near by. We re- 
turned to the " Lion," and soon after dinner ordered 
post-chaises ; then were off for Woodstock, forgetful 
of the exorbitant charges of the inn, and its want of 
comfort. The road thither, running through a beau- 
tifully undulating country, passes by villages whose 
thatched cottages and quiet little churches are familiar 
to our early reading. We were surprised to find the 
land so thinly settled, and missed the presence of our 
neat and whitewashed cottages. What few villagers 
we saw, were huddled together in miserable hamlets, 
far removed from the scenes of their daily labor. The 
farms are let out to general farmers, who hire these 
serfs to work them, and are seldom honored with the 
presence of their lordly proprietors ; and, again, many 
acres of cultivable soil lie waste and unprofitable, for 
rabbit warrens and preserves. 

About nine o'clock, p. m., we reached Woodstock, 
famous for its buckskin gloves, and put up at the 
" Bear," of which mention is made by Scott, in " Ken- 
ilworth." It is still no less celebrated for its larder 
and cheer. We were a merry party to discuss a veni- 
son steak, or a rabbit stew ; and, as we grew warm 
with wine and draught, we became patriotic ; swore 



BLENHEIM CITY OP OXFORD. 27 

and raved about British tyranny and oppression, mo- 
nopoly of landed estates, and the corn laws : a proper 
and healthy discharge of our pent-up democracy, which 
had been two weeks at sea, and only three days in 
England. I sat up after the rest had retired, and had 
a long chat with my host, whom I found intelligent 
on all topics of interest to the poorer classes. We 
spoke of the Duke, of the palace, of all matters of the 
day ; until I had spun out all my recollections of Eng- 
lish history, and charmed my fancy by visions of quiet 
English country-life, and trout fishing in the brooks of 
Woodstock. 

Next morning we visited Blenheim Castle, built by 
the nation, in the reign of Anne, a gift to John, Duke of 
Marlborough, " the Defender and Preserver of Great 
Britain." Its grounds and gardens are beautifully laid 
out ; the order of its architecture abominable ; its 
gallery of paintings fair, of which the " Titians " are 
peculiar and apart ; the library well selected and rare : 
but its lord and proprietor is a drunken sot, an unwor- 
thy scion of his ancestor, whose whole conduct shows 
the absurdity of making those dukes who have not 
common virtues. 

We rode that afternoon to Oxford, and had time to 
visit several of its colleges, beginning with Magdalene, 
where, in the beautiful refitting of the old church, we 

2 



28 addison's walk — bodleian library. 

admired a specimen of sculpture in marble, round the 
altar screen, which rivalled the antique in finish. 

Among the mementos in New College, the Bishop 
of Wickham's Crosier recalled the primitive simplicity 
and persecutions of the early English Church ; whilst 
"Addison's Walk" seemed pregnant with the spirit of 
that model of purity and grace in literature. 

There cannot be a more impressive spectacle than 
the "Main Street" of this classic city, amid the array 
of colleges on either side : no spot where such pleasing 
memories crowd upon the mind. Starting at the 
bridge, you view the river, 'which was once the ford of 
oxen, from whence its name ; and, as you pass each 
edifice, which seems a temple to some divinity of learn- 
ing, each bearing with it its own hallowed associations, 
and gathering around it the halo of its great and wise, 
you pause awhile to gaze upon the Norman features of 
Saint Peter's in the East, with its curious old Saxon 
crypts ; and then, in turn, to wonder at " Brazen 
Nose " and the Bodleian Library, which seem familiar. 
You pass on to the " Hall," where Charles convened 
his parliament, after retiring before the Roundheads 
from London ; and go beyond, to view that cross- 
marked pavement, where died Latimer, Cranmer, and 
Ridley, first martyrs to religious liberty, whose monu- 
mental Gothic shrine is but a cold and heartless sar- 



CHRIST S CHURCH LONDON. 29 

casm on that parent University, who educated her 
children only to burn them at the stake. 

Christ's Church is the school for divinity ; hence 
emanated the famous " Oxford Tracts." It is a curious 
relic of the ancient architecture of the town. We 
entered as the choristers were chanting the daily 
morning service, and were deeply impressed by the 
sweet solemnity of their well-attuned responses. In 
the chapel are some beautiful sarcophagi of worthies 
lying in state, and some rare old Saxon tiles imbedded 
in the pavement of the lecturn. To crown our visit, 
Dr. Pusey appeared, as we were leaving ; he seemed a 
part of the antiquity of that church ; and as he flitted 
mysteriously by, wrapped in his own musings or devo- 
tions, it was naturally suggested, how easily association 
with antiquity and a life in cloisters might surround a 
Roman with the religious goblins of the past, and in- 
duce new maniacs to wander among old tombs. 

The quiet seclusion of the University has been lost 
in the din and noise of the steam-cars, which took us 
that afternoon to London, driven along the last fifty 
miles at the rate of one mile a minute. We caught 
but a bird's-eye view of the noble pile of Windsor. 
One is dropped so suddenly into the bustle and noise of 
this great metropolis, that your first impressions are 
almost snatched away in the excitement of each suc- 
cessive scene. From the moment you arrive at Pad- 



30 TRAFALGAR SdUARE. 

dington until you reach the door of your hotel, one 
continuous, dense, and active population crowds upon 

& the sight ; and as you pass over Temple Bar into the 
narrower limits of the city, it swells into a tide of liv- 
ing heads. 

I was first struck with those walking signs, moving 
around on two pair of protruding boots. The dense 
and crowded confusion of the Strand led me to seek 
new quarters at Morley's, in Trafalgar Square. The 
situation of this hotel is not surpassed in London. 
From my windows I view the Nelson Monument, with 
the statues, fountains, and the fine portico of the Na- 
tional Gallery ; in front, Northumberland House, with 

% its drooping escutcheon (emblem of its lord's demise) ; 
and, afar off, Charing- Cross, with its fine equestrian 
statue. My first sight and constant landmark was 
" Saint Paul's," with its ever conspicuous cupola domi- 
nating London : — mausoleum of lost centuries, and 
second only of earth's monuments, which ranks Chris- 
topher Wren next to Michael Angelo. Such vast pro- 
portions and magnitude seize upon the soul, and lead 
our thoughts to heaven. The impress of Divinity is 
potent under such sublimity of form. 

The English are a church-going people : on Sun- 
day the whole town is afloat, and the Strand, so full 
on week-days, is crowded and thronged on the Sab- 
bath. At Saint-Martin's-in-the-Fields, I listened to a 



HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT. 31 

sermon by Archdeacon Robinson. I observed no 
peculiarity in the forms of worship, other than those 
representatives of royalty in the persons of two portly 
beadles, with their uniforms of red, supporting their 
maces with dignity. 

We strolled, after church, to the New Houses of 
Parliament, still in progress, which, when finished, will 
present a fine front on the Thames. Parliament-street 
contains, with Lombard, most of the government build- 
ings. Westminster Bridge, which is the nearest to the 
House of Commons, gives a pleasing view of life on 
the Thames, and a grand diorama of the distant city. 
Passing thence through Regent's to Hyde Park, we 
come to the Hyde Park Corner and Apsley House, 
nearly opposite which, is that celebrated equestrian 
statue of the Duke, so cleverly and justly caricatured 
by Punch. 

Next morning we attended the review of the Horse 
Guards, commanded by Lord Londonderry, which is 
one of the best equipped bodies in England, and made 
up of picked men. The presence of the Grand Duke 
Constantine, of Russia, lent some interest to the occa- 
sion. We were somewhat amused at his Highness's 
indifference, as his mien indicated that such reviews 
were matters of course at home. 

Thence we went to Kensington Palace and Gar- 
dens. These grounds, which lie close to the Serpen- 



32 WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 

tine River (the resort of fashionable suicides, who are 
kindly provided by the Humane Society with a boat), 
are prettily laid out in walks and flower beds, and 
much frequented by ladies, who stroll here awhile in 
the morning. Passing out, by the lower gate of the 
Park, we stopped a moment to view the lancers at their 
morning drill, and there took the omnibus. In a few 
minutes we were at the Poet's Corner, on our way to 
Westminster Abbey. The secluded nook of the poets' 
monuments first claims notice on entering, and our 
poetic associations make us familiar with the bust of 
the great within. 

The next object of interest is the superb Chapel of 
Henry the Seventh. Too many have already done 
justice to the beauties of this hallowed spot. Those 
silent and powerful feelings which arise spontaneously, 
and are suggested by a contact with things sacred, are 
the meetest tribute which can be paid by the scholar 
or the traveller. 

From " grave to lively," I was led to visit Madame 
Tussaud's collection of wax-figures in the evening. In 
doing this I was guided more by a taste for the absurd 
than any hope of improvement in art. It is sometimes 
well to watch the trivial springs of our minor actions, 
which account for the successful workings of humbug. 
I was curious to observe its relation with English cha- 
racter, and was satisfied to learn that the type of Mrs. 



LONDON SIGHTS TOWER. 33 

Jarley, in London, stood no less marked than its anti- 
type, the mermaid, at Barnum's, in New- York. 

Who goes for the jolly life of London, let him 
walk to Hungerford landing, and jump aboard one of 
the halfpenny or twopenny ferries which ply the river 
in all directions. It is a constant scene of diversion, 
to drop indifferently on any one, and go wherever it 
may please. You get a glimpse of all the buildings 
by the water's edge, and as you run under the bridges, 
your steam-tub most respectfully doffs his pipe, as if 
in reverence to the Queen's authority. Besides, it is 
the nearest way of going to the Tower ; or you may 
stop at London Bridge, and walk through Lower 
Thames-street, to view the shipping and docks, with 
the wine-vaults. 

At the Tower, you take a yeoman guide, equipped 
in his proper dress and halberd, who shows you the 
Armory and Sir Walter Raleigh's prison. The collec- 
tion is interesting, so far as it presents a historical view 
of the use, abuse, and discontinuance of all arms and 
weapons of war, from earliest times to the period of 
Charles the Second ; and you may see there some 
curious instruments for the torture of poor prisoners, 
or for the extortion of evidence under the rack. The 
regalia in the jewel-room are worthy of notice merely 
from their association with the wearers. My sym- 
pathies were most enlisted for the head which once 



34 WAPPING— TUNNEL- — ST. PAUL'S. 

rested in the crown of Anne Bullen. Passing thence 
across the court-yard, that dark stain on the pavement 
marks the spot where queens were beheaded. The 
old Tower Church beyond tells of the burial of those 
victims who died here under confinement ; and that 
gloomy recess in the wall within, shows marks of a 
scaffolding where males were executed. As you ap- 
proach the outer gate, your guide whispers that two 
little princes were murdered in that room ; and, just 
above, he points his staff at the little grated window, 
where Queen Elizabeth was only once confined. 

What a memorial of murder, tyranny, and blood is 
that Tower ! 

A walk through Wapping soon brought me to the 
Tunnel. It is a very damp walk for a stranger, under 
the oozing bed of the Thames ; whilst one has visions 
of sea-weed, soft-shelled clams, and of drowning, for 
you are literally over your head in water. In the 
alcoves of the arches are little shops for the sale of 
trinkets and " Dioramas of the Tunnel." Their women 
shopkeepers told me their abodes were rather moist, 
and sales very slow. 

I returned again to London Bridge, and walked into 
Saint Paul's, for an interior. There is a disgraceful 
charge of four shillings and sixpence for visiting all 
parts of this church, and no one should pay it for try- 
ing to catch a panorama of London from the Ball, 



NATIONAL GALLERY. 35 

through a fog ; but stay down stairs, pay twopence to 
the saucy gruff sexton or beadle, and study the noble 
proportions of the interior, the perfect curvature of the 
dome, and the many grand monuments which adorn 
the walls and niches ; but do not forget the tomb of 
the builder. 

I met a friend as I stepped out of Saint Paul's ; we 
went quietly together round the corner, into the 
" Black Swan," famous for its porter, and regaled our- 
selves With " heavy wet," and " half-and-half." You 
want a friend to tell you where to get beefsteaks in 
London, especially if you are lodging at your inn. 
We went afterwards to the National Gallery, in Traf- 
algar Square, not to hurry over the water colors, but to 
admire that collection of paintings which has some 
choice gems of the Old Masters that often haunt you, 
even among the galleries of Italy. 

Grisi sang at Covent Garden in the evening. The 
company this winter was far better selected than that 
of the Opera, although Jenny Lind was there. Grisi 
never was surpassed in Norma, for she has that rare 
combination of physique and voice necessary to per- 
fect a singer. Her acting was inimitable and epic, and 
Casta Diva was uttered in the fulness of her powers. 
The house was so crowded that we were obliged to 
stand during the whole evening ; but our fatigue was 

forgotten, under the spell of her warblings. 

2* 



36 TEMPLE CHURCH JENNY LIND. 

Next day was set apart for the Museum — the most 
noble institution, devoted to the pursuit of science, in 
Europe. Besides the collections in botany, zoology, 
and mineralogy, those of antiquities and Elgin marbles 
are the most remarkable and interesting in the world. 
One could spend weeks in the examination of its curi- 
osities, without entering within the treasures of the 
library. 

Within Temple Bar stands Temple Church, a relic 
of the Crusaders, built after their return, from the ori- 
ginal of the Holy Cross, at Jerusalem, which, with its 
modern additions, completes a perfect structure. 

We whiled away most of the morning in viewing 
its monuments, which, during the recent renovation of 
the edifice, were restored and set aside in the outer 
gallery of the vestibule. In cleaning the pillars which 
support the roof, they were discovered to be of Pur- 
beck marble, which had been whitewashed during the 
Rebellion, to prevent their destruction, and the ruin of 
some beautifully sculptured effigies of the knights on 
the floor. 

In the evening of that day I attended the Royal 
Opera, and heard Jenny Lind in " Roberto il Diavolo." 
She sang charmingly; her voice was of the purest 
tone ; and she so chaste, so classic in her style. The 
house was crowded to excess, and even many women 
stood during the whole opera, often supporting them 



SATURDAY NIGHT. 37 

selves on the backs of the chairs, or hanging barely 
by a precarious foothold. Never was an audience so 
enthusiastic, or in such a furor. I had never a con- 
ception before of the susceptibility of the human voice, 
and in some passages her warblings approached to the 
voluptuous richness of the nightingale. There were 
some notes of such poetic beauty, that they seemed to 
flow from the recesses of her heart, not unlike rays 
through an oriel window, on which a thought might 
wing its way to heaven. 

Castellan sang in company, but was lost between 
the Queen and Jenny ; so great were the fascina- 
tions of this songstress, that even the ballet could not 
retain those who were contented to retire with the 
opera. 

The Queen was a constant attendant during the 
entire season, and on all occasions, excepting the state 
visits, keeps herself somewhat withdrawn from the 
audience : at such stated times, her presence is noticed 
by the National Anthem, and her maids then have to * 
stand during the entire evening. 

Saturday night is that which displays the outpour- 
ing of the overteeming population of the town ; gin 
shops become splendidly illuminated palaces, pouring 
out of their windows the blaze of that hell which rages 
with destruction and ruin to the victims within. 
The Strand is filled to overflowing with innumerable 



38 HYDE PARK. 

wretches, of both sexes, and crowds of honest laborers 
returning homeward with their hard-earned wages. 
The shops are brilliant with the display of goods under 
rich gas-lights, and industry is active in supplying the 
increased demand. All is bustle, confusion, din, and 
noise ; and increases until the first hours of the Sab- 
bath, when it becomes not unlike darkness itself, more 
confused and obscure just previous to the very opening 
of the approaching day. 

Contrasted with the confusion of the " City," Hyde 
Park displays its array of equipages, about five o'clock 
in the afternoon, when attention is divided between 
^ the horsemanship of the riders and the idea of wealth 
and luxury expressed by the crowds of vehicles which 
slowly roll through the avenues of the Park. There 
appeared an air of general indifference and satiety in 
the faces of all the women of rank ; but very little of 
* beauty in the countenances of those pussy dowagers 
and listlessly pouting young ladies. I must say the 
flunkies and the footmen were the only correct things, 
and under the magnificence of the occasion, there was 
a good smattering of Vanity Fair. 

Get tickets of admission from your banker, spend 
an hour waiting in the anteroom, and you may pass a 
profitable evening until midnight, listening to the de- 
bates of the Commons. There is a free and easy man- 
ner in the House, and cosiness of discussion, which 



HOUSE OF COMMONS HAMPTON COURT. 39 

suits the character of an old established form. Most 
of the members have their hats on ; some one or two 
lovingly embrace the Speaker, and are tapping him 
quietly on the shoulder : — a few uncouth postures es- 
tablish the dignity of the order. Loud talking and 
"hear him" interrupt the sentences of the orator on 
the stand. The Portuguese question is on, whilst Lord 
John Manners is sawing the air, and pendulating his 
body over the table before which he swings. A whin- 
ing schoolboy of our village might equal his powers of 
declamation. Lord George Bentinck followed, with as 
few graces of oratory or diction ; and Macaulay alone 
was listened to with attention, for his words were 
earnest, and his ideas were the easy offspring of a well- 
stored mind. That House of Commons was by no 
means as dignified as our Lower House, and little less 
can be said. 

A day or two afterwards, we took the cars at Nine 
Elms, for Richmond ; and thence by omnibus, passing 
by Strawberry Hill, to Hampton Court. This palace 
was built by Cardinal Wolsey, and presented by him 
to Henry VIII. Many of its paintings are excellent ; 
but are chiefly portraits of the royal families, and dis- 
tinguished nobles. Raphael's cartoons are hung, in 
ragged outline, round the walls of its beautiful chapel. 
The grounds are prettily laid out, and embrace an ex- 
tent of miles, but they are seldom frequented by the 



40 HOTEL FEES DOVER. 

royal family. You can return by another route to 
Nine Elms, and thence to London by the river, passing 
by Chelsea, Vauxhall Garden, and Lambeth Palace. 

Having nearly exhausted London, we made prepa- 
rations for our departure. In settling your hotel bill, 
in England, you avoid much annoyance by ordering 
the service to be included. This charge, though 
trifling, after the exorbitant prices of first-class lodgings, 
is unjust, because the servants receive no portion of 
it. Pay it therefore with a good grace, or you will be 
beset by the waiter, chambermaid, " boots " and porter. 
At Surryside you take the cars for Dover. You will 
be charmed with the regularity and police of all the 
English railroads : no one can take any other than 
first class in England, who wishes to travel with ease. 
The second have no cushions, your baggage goes over 
your seat ; and you are impelled at the rate of forty, or 
more miles, the hour. 

This road passes through a very pretty section of 
the country, and gives frequent opportunities of view- 
ing the chalk formations. There are no less than five 
tunnels on the way to Dover, which could only have 
been excavated in chalk. We reached Dover before 
sunset, and caught a glimpse of its position, as it is 
nestled between the castle, which crowns its pro- 
montory on the east, and the Shakspeare cliff* which 
limits its western aspect. We can commend the 



CROSSING TO OSTEND. 41 

"Clarendon," though small, as comfortable and good; 
for we spent the night in it, before we took leave of 
" merrie England ;" a term which we have never seen 
applied with propriety by any other writer but Shaks- 
peare; and which we deem inappropriate since the 
middle ages. 



THE CONTINENT. 

THE CHANNEL. 

The incontinent and fickle North Sea was evi- 
dently intended, by Nature, as a compensation for that 
want of rock-bound coast which characterizes the 
frontiers of Belgium and Holland. That formidable 
barrier of waves, rolling in long deep furrows to the 
land, swells from the magnitude of a continent ; and 
breaks the monotony of those ideas which have been 
fostered amid the comforts and strict economy of 
English life. Those four hours of crossing, from 
Dover to Ostend, were pregnant with merriment and 
mishaps, which made us forget the horrors of the 
" Manche ;" and opened our minds for the perception of 
new pleasures, and fresh joys. In fact, the sea was 
very calm ; and only one angry swell, at the haven, 
caused us to wish for the light-house, and to welcome 
the flats of Flanders. We were besieged, on landing, 
by a crowd of animated Flemings, who, no doubt, 



OSTEND TO ANTWERP. 43 

mistook us for Englishmen ; but soon found they had 
a cargo of live Yankees. Here, indeed, the interest of 
foreign travel commences, the manners and customs 
of the people become peculiar, and every object no- 
ticeable. 

Their women wear very high caps and sabots ; 
and their blouse gowns, overhung by tidy spencers, 
with ruffled tucks skirting their waists, under the folds 
of a small shawl, gave them a very marine and washer- 
woman aspect. From infancy, they are accustomed 
to those heavy wooden shoes, in which they trot over 
their pebble-paved ways that are all street, and no side- 
walk. Their neatly built houses, with high gables and 
tiny tiled roofs, indicate a Flemish landscape ; and 
their language is such a gibberish of patois, as if Ger- 
many and France had flown across the country, and 
melted down into Flanders. We soon walked through 
their little territory ; and whilst waiting the inspection 
of our baggage, partook of a rare dinner of Kraut and 
Paprica, which is a singular conglomerate of all the 
kingdoms, fish, flesh and fowl. 

We hurried away to the railroad, but not a word 
could we speak of that unknown tongue, to these sub- 
marines. So we held out both hands when we took 
our tickets, and bid them take their pay. They 
weighed our baggage, when they learned us a lesson, 
that made us all resolve to travel with less in future. 



44 CITY OF ANTWERP. 

This railroad passes through Bruges, by Ghent ; and 
is conducted with all the regularity of the English 
roads, although at less speed. You pass along the 
banks of the Ostend and Bruges Canal, through a 
very flat country, in a high state of cultivation, and 
full of evidences of the industry and neatness of the 
Flemish. At Malines or Mechlin, famous for its lace, 
the road branches off to Antwerp, at which town we 
arrived about ten o'clock at night outside the walls. 
We had no sooner entered the gates, than our vehicle 
was stopped ; and an official, surveying us by the light 
of his lantern, asked us, " Messieurs, avez vous quelque 
chose a declarer ?" when finding we had not, he let us 
pass unmolested into the city to the " Hotel du Pare," 
kept by M. Lapre. 

A few scattered galleons on the Scheldt, were but 
a poor representation of its former commercial impor- 
tance, in the sixteenth century, when Antwerp had 
200,000 inhabitants. On the opposite shore of the 
river is the famous " tete de Flandre." Many of its 
houses show the presence of its ancient lords, the 
Spaniards ; and its fine quays are among the traces of 
Napoleon's greatness. The fortifications, which once 
encircled the city, have been partially destroyed ; al- 
though they still bear the marks of the gallant defence 
of Lasses, whose bravery and chivalry enlisted the 
noble sympathies of his conqueror Gerhard. 



CATHEDRAL MUSEUM. 45 

The Cathedral of our Lady is one of the noblest 
constructions in northern Europe, and its tower is 
remarkable for its easy grace. It is so surrounded by 
low and crazy tenements, that much of the effect of its 
beautiful portal is obscured. Its interior is simply 
ornate, and needs the picturesque costumes of worship- 
pers at high mass, to fill up the nakedness of its lofty 
walls. Rubens' Descent from the Cross is the main 
ornament of the church, its chef d'ouvre. Its cele- 
brated pulpit, " The Seat of Truth," is an admirable 
specimen of that art of sculpture in wood, which has 
been brought to perfection by the native artists of 
Antwerp, whose chief was Quentire Matys. 

The Museum, which has a numerous collection of 
the Flemish school, and abounds with Vandykes and 
Rubens, is of much value from its use by the School 
of Design attached : a large portion of its walls are 
hung with paintings of the earlier periods, which are 
historical of the progress of art in this country. As 
Rubens is the sole pride of Antwerp, his works abound 
in all its churches ; and, in Rubens-street, his family 
residence still remains. 

The most beautiful in its interior, and richest in art, 
is the church of Saint Jacques ; whilst there are few in 
Europe, which possess such costly objects and splendid 
monuments. Here is the celebrated "Chapeau de 
Paille," a painting in which Rubens' family is intro 



46 CHURCHES LIFE AND MANNERS. 

duced, and beyond it his unfinished monument. The 
marble carvings in this church are extremely elab- 
orate ; and the Altar of the Holy Sacrament is of rare 
beauty in the design of the marble balustrade, sculp- 
tured in graceful combinations of the vine and grape, 
entwining some exquisitely finished cherubs. 

Saint Barromeo, which was built chiefly at Ru- 
bens' expense, has many rich and finished designs in 
wood ; and is especially worthy of notice for the 
panels of the gallery, which are carved with scenes 
from the life of our Saviour. 

Saint Paul's has a curiously wrought Calvary 
attached to the church. Its interior has little remark- 
able after a look into the other churches : whilst view- 
ing its paintings we watched an exposition of relics, 
and were favored by a sight of the Apostle's jaw-bone, 
which was held out for the adoration and kisses of the 
devout, at the moderate tax of a centime. One is 
struck at the frequency of the shrines which are hung 
at the corners of the streets. You meet many pictu- 
resque groups of people scattered about the market- 
places and the cafes. The complexion of the women 
is fair, and of a softer hue and expression than is 
generally observed among the Dutch. Their out-door 
habits fit them peculiarly for the study of the artists ; 
and it requires little effort to make them happy and fit 



GENERAL VIEW 47 

subjects for the sketch-book, who are naturally so 
adaptive and easy in the walks of their daily life. 

Outside the walls are the Gardens of the Musical 
Society, whither the inhabitants resort for their after- 
noon stroll. A fine band of music was discoursing 
popular overtures and waltzes under the porches of the 
Pavilion, whilst many groups were scattered over the 
grounds, engaged at coffee and the enlivening dance. 

A visit to the dance-house in the city will well 
repay the lover of those merry interiors, in which Te- 
niers is so happy, and of which Flanders alone fur- 
nishes the originals. 

On the whole, no one fails to be pleased w T ith Ant- 
werp : a city which unites all the peculiarities and 
raciness of Flemish life. That striking impression 
which takes possession of your senses, is not one of 
mere novelty. The noble simplicity of the Dome, the 
magnificence of its temples, the charming naivete* of 
boorish nature, the picturesque groupings of its people, 
the quaint character of its edifices and perfection of its 
school of art, unite to form a new and harmonizing 
whole, and stamp their images in such pleasing combi- 
nations on the memory, that one recurs to that first 
vision, even amid the brighter skies and more brilliant 
display of art in sunny Italy. 

With regret, therefore, the stranger quits Flanders ; 
for there is satisfaction in the study of a people, whose 



48 GENERAL VIEW. 

characteristic features are those of industry and con- 
tentment. I saw no beggars in Antwerp, save the 
priests, and a few superannuated cripples who sat at 
the " beautiful gate of the temple/' 

You return to Mechlin to get a view of its pretty- 
cathedral, and proceed on the direct road to Brussels. 
The aspect of the country was less pleasing than that 
observed around Antwerp ; still there was the same 
prospect of neatness and industry. 



BELGIUM. 

BRUSSELS. 

Belgium's royal seat has a little too much similarity 
to Paris to claim any individual existence. In its event- 
ful history, it has survived the terrors of famine, pesti- 
lence, siege, and a revolution which severed it from the 
Netherlands. 

It has subsided into a population of about 120,000, 
and become a lounging place for the English, who seem 
to favor it from its neighborhood to Blucher and Wa- 
terloo. 

We took a coach, the morning after our arrival, 
and rode out to Waterloo, by the Boulevards de Na- 
murs, and were soon rattling over the highway con- 
structed by Napoleon. We hurried by the Forest of 
Soignes, on to the site of Mount St. Jean, until we 
reached the famous cockpit of Europe. 

Sergeant Cotton is a right proper person to show 
you the ground ; and, as a living eye-witness, grows 



50 WATERLOO. 

eloquent while discoursing of the Duke. He knoweth 
well the positions and actions of the different armies at 
various turns of the bloody day ; and he will take you 
the 197 steps up, panting and blowing, to picture the 
deployment of the Allies and the French, on that field 
spread out as a chart beneath, and stretching over the 
undulatory and broken champaign, from the farm of 
Hugomont, Belle Alliance, and that hill behind which 
Blucher hove in sight to change the sinking fortunes of 
the day. Your very hair stands up at ends, at his bloody 
story of that battle ; and your tender soul would sicken 
on your ride homewards, but for the ludicrous grimaces 
and rapid somersets of those little begging, velocipede 
imps, who beset your carriage, and force you to laugh 
outright, in spite of your sense of outraged decency, as 
you moralize on this unseemly display of legs on high- 
ways, and give your stivers for the support of a nation- 
al establishment of paupers on the public roads. 

We lodged at the Hotel de France, in town; 
whence our windows overlooked the park and the 
palace beyond. In our morning walk we visited the 
Chamber of Deputies near by, and found the members 
very comfortably housed, with excellent accommoda- 
tions for their committee and reading rooms. In an 
upper chamber we found an excellent painting of the 
battle of Waterloo. 

We saw nothing peculiar in the Cathedral of St. 



LACE MANUFACTORY HOTEL DE VILLE. 51 

Gudule, but some beautifully stained glass, and its fine 
pulpit, representing the " Expulsion of our First Pa- 
rents from Paradise." You can spend a pleasant hour 
in visiting the lace factories, where you will see a 
number of homely women working this fabric, in all 
its stages, from the thread to the flower. Had they 
been any thing other than Dutch, I might have raised 
some poetry or sympathy on the spinning out of their 
thread of life into the patterns before them ; but as it 
was, I found the lace inferior to that of Antwerp, and 
learnt that they made a point in Mechlin which was 
well understood at Brussels. 

A terrible shower falling at the moment, called our 
attention to the want of side- walks in town ; but that 
defect was compensated by the breadth of the over- 
hanging eaves, as we picked our way through the mid- 
dle of the gutters, to the picturesque stands of the mar- 
ket women, in the " Place " before the " Stadthaus." 

One has a melancholy feeling for the poor architect 
of this Hotel de Ville, a rare and quaint old building of 
the Spanish style ; for the luckless wight hung himself, 
when, in the height of exultation over his work, he 
was informed that the spire was not placed exactly in 
the middle of the edifice. Doubtless he fell a victim to 
his over-scrupulous observance of the "unities." 

Its fine old hall, in which Charles the Fifth abdi- 
cated in favor of Philip, has been converted into a 
3 



52 MANNIKIN-PIS. 

registry for marriages. Some curious old tapestries 
hang on its walls, commemorative of the life of Clovis 
and Clotilda. As you look out upon the square, you 
mark the scaffold on which Counts Horn and Egmont 
were beheaded, whilst cruel Alba surveyed the atrocity 
from his window opposite. Crossing over to the Court 
of Cassation, we looked in to see two modern paint- 
ings of great merit, representing " The Abdication of 
Charles the Fifth," and " The Convention of Nobles 
protesting the Acts of Duke Alba." 

Thence we walked to pay our tribute of respect to 
the Mannikin-Pis, presiding divinity of Brussels. This 
curious little figure stands on the corner of the Rue de 
FEtuve and the Rue du Chene. The story goes, that 
a certain Godfrey, son of a Count of Brabant, was lost 
one day, much to the grief of his royal parent ; and, 
after great hue and cry had been raised, and much ado, 
was found in a peculiar position in this corner. The 
Brusselites call him their oldest Burgher, look upon 
him as a sort of Palladium, and dread, should any ill 
luck happen him, some evil might befall their city. A 
fountain was hit upon, to commemorate his memory 
whose life was deemed a public blessing, and that purl- 
ing, tiny stream, issuing from below, yields a twin sug- 
gestion of a dilemma and discovery. Such is the Man- 
nikin which kings have honored and emperors have 
crowned ; a curious instance among many of the su- 



MALIBRAN L AACHEN. 53 

perstitious crotchets of a people, ever enslaved to an 
unnatural connection of their own happiness with some 
mystical influence, and a link in that chain of juggling 
legerdemain, by which royalty manages to delude its 
subjects into a forgetfulness of their liberties. 

One is shocked, in Brussels, with their peculiar mode 
of trimming trees in the shapes of globes, pyramids, 
and rhomboids ; a perversion of the true intent of na- 
ture, much akin to that fashion which once affected 
the form of English poetry, when verses were written 
with a greater regard to the shape than to the sense or 
metre. The absence of this fashion renders the Allee 
Verte* one of the most delightful walks in the city. 

In walking through the city, you do not fail to ob- 
serve that every house is hung with a pair of reflectors, 
so disposed that all that passes in the streets is observed 
without the trouble of looking out. 

A ride to Laachen is one of the few and pleasant 
excursions out of town — where one is more attracted 
by the reputation of Malibran, whose monument so ap- 
propriately suits the merits of that charming songstress, 
than by a sight of the king's summer palace. 

Brussels, on the whole, has little to attract, because 
there is so little of nationality or of character peculiar 
to herself, and one is too much impressed with an idea 
of the neighborhood of Paris to dwell long on the man- 
ners or customs of its inhabitants. 



54 MONS QUIVERAINE. 

The next morning after our visit to Laachen, we 
took the cars for Paris, having secured a saloon car for 
the party. Speed in travel is economy of one's plea- 
sures, and permits you to hurry over that uninteresting 
ground which lies on the frontiers of France. In fact 
there is little to strike attention on this route, save the 
curious and fortified town of Mons. We were ex- 
empted from the usual frontier investigation, at Qui- 
veraine, by the edict of the fifteenth of the present 
month. Beyond this, the appearance of the country is 
flat, and of a boggy soil. For the last sixty miles the 
land is better cultivated; and, as you approach the 
city, you remark that usual abundance and richness of 
cultivation which notifies you of the presence of a 
capital. 




The Mannikin. 



FRANCE. 



PARIS. 



You enter Paris under those recently erected forti- 
fications designed by Louis Philippe as defences against 
foreign aggression, but actually intended to keep his 
own rebellious subjects in subjection. How plausible 
this sophistry, and how fallacious his plans, subsequent 
events have proved. 

On entering Paris from the north, one scarcely fails 
to be disappointed. Those narrow streets, low shop 
windows, blouse-clad ouvriers, and meagre fiacres, 
which flutter by your carriage as you are driven to the 
hotel, are a pitiful substitute for those exalted ideas 
of Paris which can only be filled by a long residence, 
ripe acquaintance with the capital, and a domiciliation 
in your quiet and snug little lodgment au troisieme. 
Your view changes when you become somewhat ha- 
bitue to the life on the Boulevards, discuss " La Presse " 
at your cafe, and your awkward and formal parlance 



56 VALET DE PLACE. 

wears away, from your ease and intercourse among 
the French. 

To enjoy the French capital, one must frequent 
some of the popular cafes on the Italiennes, throw off 
the Anglais, laugh over " Charivari," attend the Gar- 
dens, visit the Spectacle, dance the cancan, douceur 
some member's lorette, and you will do the correct 
thing, if you have plenty of money. 

One who makes a short visit only should employ a 
valet-de-place ; and a proper one was Rodolph, who 
was with us in our rounds about Paris : he is up to all 
the "passant" of the day, and will make your little 
purchases, charge only a round commission, buy every 
thing " en confiance ;" after which you will be satisfied 
with his politeness, and return home amused to find 
yourself moderately cheated, while you esteem him 
only a little less rogue than valet. Doubtless a traveller 
led round by a " commissionaire " becomes a mere au- 
tomaton, and sight-seeing one of the greatest bores 
that ever tired the intellect of a stranger, whilst it wo- 
fully disturbs the dreams of one who has hitherto sup- 
posed himself a mere man of leisure. But some things 
must be done for the pleasure of the action undergone ; 
and the quicker done, the more room for solid and ma- 
ture reflection. 

We began with the Bourse, or the Exchange : the 
exterior is imposing, and the interior is opened to the 



SIGHTS AND ROUNDS. 57 

daily concourse of brokers and stockjobbers. A novel 
scene presents itself to those who look down from the 
gallery, whilst one doubts, until instructed, whether he 
is present at a bear-baiting or a universal auction ; 
such is the din, clatter, hurry, and animation of these 
excitable Frenchmen. 

The history of Paris is that of France, and a walk 
through her streets, recalls some of the most stirring 
incidents of her revolutions. We passed from the 
Exchange, to view the recently erected statue of Louis 
the Fourteenth, replacing that destroyed in the last 
" gmeute ;" then crossed the market-place, threading our 
way through the crazy irregularities of ancient houses, 
to the spot where Henry Quatre fell, under the knife 
of Ravaillac ; we came out by the " Place des Cha- 
teuets," with its column erected to the victims of July, 
near which, a fountain pours forth refreshing waters 
over the monuments of the innocents, massacred on 
St. Bartholomew's Eve. 

Then over to the " Isle of France," where fresh 
flowers display their charms, and smile in the market- 
place, under the frowning walls of the ConciSrgerie, 
seeming like garlands strewn over the graves of 
the guillotined; and mournfully, opposite stands the 
" Morgue," gloomy mansion of the drowned. What 
a sad evidence of human depravity is found in the 
fact, that men are sometimes pushed into the Seine, 



58 LOUVRE — ST. CLOUD. 

that the paltry pittance of ten francs for a recovery 
may be gained. 

To change the scene, one should visit the Goblins, 
mount the Barriere de l'Etoile, see the Hippodrome, 
laugh at Franconi, and play with the little children 
frolicking with their nice tidy bonnes, in the Allees of 
the Tuilleries. 

The collections at the Louvre are a never failing 
resource of a rainy day, of which there is no lack in 
Paris. But if the sun is out and the air bright, take 
a Sunday for St. Cloud, or Versailles, a day when all 
the town is there a merry-making, and the " grands 
eaux " are played. These are rare occasions to observe 
the manners and customs of the people. 

It happened a fete, when we visited St. Cloud, and 
the grounds were filled with animated and happy 
people, waiting, and eager to see the display of the 
fountains, which were to be let off at five o'clock. 
In the meantime, walk about among the temporary 
booths, erected on the green lawn, and by the foot- 
paths, and look in, and see the devices for gaining a 
sous from a passer. Here, you may shoot at a swing- 
ing little jackanapes, who turns furious somersets when 
you hit him ; there again, you may be weighed ; and 
near by, look at those theatrical women in shorts, 
tumbling, in ground and lofty, whilst they announce 
to you ; " viola ! le chat, le double chat, le grand souris 



NOTRE DAME THE INVALIDES. 59 

Velephant ;" and all this, for two sous ; then laugh with 
these simple people, and observe how easily they are 
pleased ; the great secret of their amusement, which 
demands little effort and less outlay. Gayety is the 
dominant instinct of the mass, and the pursuit of 
pleasure engrosses all classes, peasant, sans-culotte, 
fop, and sovereign. Saunderson, in his " American 
in Paris/' gives their picture to the very life ; truly, 
says he, " who can describe a people who call their 
mothers, mares, and horses, shovels ?" 

One cannot stay long away from a sight of Notre 
Dame ; so grand in its own architectural proportions 
and its associations with the greatness of the Emperor. 
Here was the scene of his coronation ; on which 
occasion he presented those magnificent robes and 
vessels, which are shown you in the sacristy, and have 
survived the ravages of the Revolutionists. In fact, 
most of the noted spots of the cijty are associated with 
the history of its many revolutions, or the life of Na- 
poleon, as witness the July column ; that of the Place 
Vendome, the most imposing in Europe ; the expia- 
tory chapel over the bodies of Maria Antoinette, and 
Louis, and their faithful Swiss ; the Invalides and the 
Magdalene. Next to Notre Dame, and a model Insti- 
tution, is that of the Hospital of the Hotel Dieu. As 
you walk through its various departments, you are 
struck with the perfect order and regularity which 
3* 



60 HOTEL D1EU THE PANTHEON. 

prevails in every department, from the pharmacy to 
the kitchen. From the hospital to the church, there 
seemed a natural connection with the cemetery of 
"Pere la Chaise." I must confess, I was disappointed 
with its aspect ; and despite the memory of great 
names, which meet you among its many monuments, 
there seemed too much levity in the garb of these tomb- 
stones, as if the very dead were tinged with nation- 
ality. Those wreaths of perpetuals, which deck the 
monuments, are fresh tokens of friendship, and evidence 
touchingly those attentions which affection nourished ; 
and they yield the only striking sentiment which that 
sepulchre calls forth. 

From death to immortality, one passes from " la 
Chaise " to the Pantheon, for relief and comfort ; that 
sublime temple of Immortality, whose every aspect 
and proportion is grand, and presence lofty. You 
need not those signal letters, " aux grandshommes de 
la patrie reconnaissante," over the portal, to remind 
you of its object. You feel it is a mausoleum. Its inte- 
rior is no less grand ; and as you stand beneath the 
dome and look up to view the frescoes, high aloft, the 
spirit soars into the intent of its depictions, and elevation 
of thought bears you to those Elysian fields ; and when 
you mount the top and watch the capital at your feet, 
that vast city stretched out and around, your whole 
soul becomes catholic, and you catch a ken universal. 



HOTEL DE CLUNY. 61 

In that same quarter of the Cite is the H6tel de 
Gluny, a curious hospital of old furniture and meubles, 
gathered from the earliest periods of French civiliza- 
tion. No true lover of the antique will fail to be 
amused at some of those social implements and bijoux, 
which quietly tell out the history of their times. 

In the interior upper rooms, many relics of the age 
of the Renaissance and the middle ages are spread 
forth, with models of old cabinets, porcelain, Sevres 
ware, and tapestry in its early art. The collection is 
well preserved, and presents a pleasant study of the 
domestic life of early France, whilst not one relic only, 
but several, hint at the menage of the gallants of Louis 
the Fourteenth's Court. Adjoining this curious old 
building, which is still retained in its primitive style 
and order, are the remains of some Roman Thermae. 

Few, who are given to sight-seeing, fail to rest the 
day with a dinner ; which leads one to speak of the 
restaurants. Epicures grieve for those days, when 
princes drove to the " Rocher des Cancales." Phillipe, 
in our experience, has supplied its fall, and equals the 
more noted and dearer of the Boulevards, or the 
Palais Royal. Besides, one does not wish to be bored 
by English, but seeks the resort of quiet, full-fed 
citizens, who have made the reputation of this volup- 
tuous resort in the Rue Mont-Martre, near the passage 
Saumon, 



62 RESTAURANT GAFES. 

We quote, only, the rich tastes of his " Sole a la 
Normande" and his " Soupe a la Bisque." No restau- 
rant life would suit that man who counts his mouth- 
fuls as he eats, and sighs as if each forkful ripped up 
the lining of his pocket. We would recommend the 
" Europe" to him, where he can get dog steaks and 
horse chops for twenty sous. A glorious appetite might 
ruin such a youth, and make his very stomach spend- 
thrift. 

He is cross-grained by instinct, who cannot be 
pleased in his daily walks in Paris. Your sobriety 
must be checked here, rather than your vices, where, 
with a share of good-nature and humor about you, you 
fall into excellent keeping with those thousand petits 
riens and absurdities, which hourly amuse you. Our 
daily habit was to hire a chair before the Cafe* of the 
Trois Freres, where we picked up many little frag- 
ments of joy, and used to laugh at the coquetry of the 
garden, and at the roar of our waiter, whose " bon" for 
coffee made the reputation of that little glazed shop 
which protrudes into the court before the fountain. 
The correct thing is to take your cigar at another caf£, 
or sip your mocha on the " Italiennes," whilst some one 
of your acquaintances is passing along, and you won- 
der " who is that pretty woman on his arm ;" you may 
be sure she is only his cousin. Or for novelty, you may 
stroll to the quarter of the Faubourg St. Martin, and 



Q 




SAINT DENIS. 63 

watch the ouvriers with their grisettes tripping along 
so light, with their frilled caps fluttering in the wind. 
There are no grisettes at the Court End, for they be- 
come converted into lorettes when they pass the 
chapel where they worship. 

A pleasant excursion was that to Saint Denis, to 
view the old church so desecrated by the Revolution- 
ists in their destruction of the Royal Tombs. The 
monuments under the crypt are of an elegant and 
costly construction. That urn which contains the 
ashes of Francis the First, is the chastest specimen of 
art in bas-relief extant ; its design is a representation 
of the renaissance of art, to which this monarch chiefly 
contributed, and, from the beauty of its execution, has 
been attributed to some of the early artists, even to Da 
Vinci. 

The hot days of July made a longer sojourn in Paris 
uncomfortable. The next morning we packed up, and 
having booked our names for Fontainebleau, took our 
seats in the omnibus, at 22 Rue de Boulox, and set off 
for the station of the Orleans railroad, on the way to 
our destination. We passed along the banks of the 
Seine, through many pretty villages, until we stopped 
at Corbeille, where we had our first trial of that lum- 
bering vehicle, miscalled a diligence. A moderately 
high ladder introduces you into the banquette, but your 
better view of the country repays your fatigue in 



64 PALACE OF FONTAINEBLEAU. 

clambering there. Our companion was an intelligent 
gentleman, attached to one of the Bureaus in Paris, and 
at his suggestion, we put up at the Hotel de Paris in 
Fontainebleau. We had no sooner entered its court, 
than our attention was drawn to a graceful nymph or- 
namenting the niche of its portal, a happy omen of the 
good keeping within, and of the taste of its host, who 
did his best to make us at our ease. 

After breakfast we visited the royal palace and gar- 
dens, and were much pleased with the ensemble of the 
parterres, gardens, and parks. Fontainebleau was the 
favorite resort of Bonaparte. We were also much in- 
terested in the secretary, on which a copy of his abdi- 
cation was displayed, and all that part of the palace 
which he inhabited. The great stairway on the court 
is that from which he parted so touchingly with his of- 
ficers. 

The forest of Fontainebleau is first in attraction 
after the palace. We were carried thither in a sort of 
covered cart, to visit its most noted points and sights, 
which are variously designated as Mount Calvary, the 
Fountain, &c., &c. From many of these elevated 
landmarks you catch a view of the village lying far off 
in the distant landscape below. At the Fount of St. 
Sauveur we met an old hag, who seemed the presiding 
genius of the grove, ready to deal out lemonade and 
diluted eau-de-vie. Her whole life was centered in 



FOREST AND ENVIRONS. 65 

this solitude. That little well, springing up under the 
rocks of the woodland, afforded her support ; whilst 
her little all, besides a few dirty tumblers and a bottle, 
was a miserably sad donkey tied to a tree beyond her, 
the very picture of patience and resignation. 

Leaving the old crone to her vocations, we passed 
on to view the more prominent points in the region of 
these forests, once famed for the bold robberies com- 
mitted, and then took a return route to the village 
by the way of some of the largest trees which exist in 
France. 

After dinner we paid a visit to M. Billet de Creury, 
our companion in the diligence, and were regaled with 
a sight of a very valuable collection of paintings and 
Sevres which we had accumulated in occasional visits 
to the neighboring provinces, where, by a proper use 
of opportunities, he had succeeded in rescuing from 
oblivion many gems of art, which otherwise would 
have lain neglected in the garrets and lumber-rooms 
of the peasants and farmers. During the troubled days 
of terror and revolution many of the choicest works of 
the French school were removed from the capital for 
preservation. 

It was midnight before we resumed our seats which 
had been secured in Paris, and we were snugly lodged 
in our banquets in good fellowship with our conductor, 
as jolly and rollicking a garcon as ever withdrew from 



66 DILIGENCE TO CHALONS. 

the dissipation of the capital for the benefit of his 
morals in the country. There are few of these con- 
ductors who do not fail to interest you by their history. 
You take their word that they were all born gentle- 
men and courtiers; and he is a beggarly wanderer 
who grudges him his proportion of cigars and eau-de- 
vie, or reserves not an ecu for one who contributes so 
much to his comfort and information. Right saucy 
fellow is he : has a word for all the girls and old bonnes 
he meets ; he rides his circuit, carrying the bag, whilst 
he tips the wink to the postboy, and hurries along 
the leaders as you are wheeled out of the village 
into that long, dark, and dreaded forest of Fontaine- 
bleau. 

We had some slight dream of the rattling and 
clanking chain of the drawbridge, as we fell asleep 
outside the walls of Mosceau. Next morning we 
found ourselves at St. Florentines, with a breakfast on 
bad claret and worse bread ; but we consoled our- 
selves in the racy qualities of Jacque, who entertained 
us with his young days in Paris, until we believed that 
the route from Paris to Lyons was the best conducted 
in all France. Thus we rode on through a delightful 
country, full of the vine and abundance, and glowing 
in all that warmth of light and summer which fills up 
one's vision of " La Belle France/' until we reached 
dinner at Semur, a quaint and perfect middle-aged town 



SAIL DOWN THE SOANE. 67 

impending the wild and now rapid Seine ; and, as we 
watched its queer old turreted prison, we thought of 
those days when Burgundy's castles frowned over the 
land, and the duke ruled with " wassail and bowl/' 

Another night, and the morning broke upon us at 
Chalons. Here we took a little steamer and floated 
down the Soane, picking our way in its dull and shal- 
low waters. We were surprised to find so much in- 
teresting scenery, and now and then the ruin of some 
ancient stronghold, or again, on some sunny bank, a 
pretty church, with its sidelong tower, whence sounded 
the tocsin ; and thus, between breakfast, landscape, and 
steam, we ran until Belle Allemagne showed its town 
before we dropped quietly down and moored at the 
quays of Lyons, situated at the junction of the Rhone 
and Soane. We lodged at the Hdtel du Nord, near 
the City Hall, and not far from the banks of the 
Rhone, which afforded more comforts than most of 
French inns. 

After dinner, whilst walking at the river's side, 
there arose a terrible " levant," with the fury of a tor- 
nado, which blew so strongly that the whole atmo- 
sphere was filled with dust, and caused us to take 
shelter until this hurricane was over ; after which, we 
paused on the bridges to watch the course of the 
" arrowy Rhone," flowing with its full broad stream 
between the two divisions of the city. 



68 MANUFACTORIES AND PEOPLE. 

The manufactories are the boast of this second of 
French cities. Besides these there are few objects 
worthy of notice, except an excellent collection of 
Roman relics in the museum. Of the many pictures in 
the gallery of ancient and modern paintings, but few 
are good. The operatives in those rooms where vel- 
vets and brocades are worked expect a small gratifica- 
tion for your visit, but one must be sly in the gift, to 
prevent your valet from seizing his share. 

The population is crowded into a very small space, 
owing to the narrow limits of the town, and one house 
was pointed out in which were fifteen hundred lodgers. 
The inequalities of the land lend a highly picturesque 
effect to many quarters of the city, whilst not the least 
interesting, is that stern old bluff across the Soane, 
where stood ancient Lugdunum and the palace of 
Commodus, whence he could overlook this once Latin 
capital on afternoons, after dining on peacocks' tongues 
and Falernian. 



SWITZERLAND. 

The road to Geneva passes along the banks of the 
Rhone until you reach Bellegarde, where it is lost for 
awhile beneath a formation of rock. At Collonge, are 
those strong fortifications which guard the French 
frontier, where you cross the river amidst the wildest 
and most beautiful scenery of the route. Perpendicu- 
lar cliffs overlook the path ; and as you enter the for- 
tress, there is only room for one carriage to pass : 
thence you catch the last sight of the Rhone, foaming 
and dashing over its rocky bed far down in the valley ; 
and over the brow of the mountain, Switzerland bursts 
upon the view. What a change from France ! Yon- 
der plain marks the labor of the industrious peasant, 
and neat farm-houses dot the roadside, where groups 
of happy people cheer you with their laugh. Far in 
the distance gleams Lake Leman, holding Geneva at 
the confluence of the Rhone and Arve, locked in the 
embrace of the Savoy and the Alps. 



70 GENEVA. 

You meet crowds of intelligent travellers at the 
" Ecu " or " Bergere," at this central point of divergence 
to Italy, the Rhine, or the Bernese Oberland. Here 
you can rest awhile to digest all future plans, and learn 
from the experience of others, resting from the fatigues 
of the season. Just opposite your windows grow those 
tall poplars on Rousseau's island, and far off in the 
south rise the majestic forms of the greater Alps. 

That plain old church which stands in the middle 
of the town, marks the spot in which Calvin preached ; 
and high aloft in the towers, you mount to command 
the glories of all the Swiss, a view which reaches far 
down the lake, and gives a panorama of the distant 
mountains. 

We took the " Helvetie " which plies the lake, and 
sailed down to Villeneuve, where the boat stops long 
enough to allow a visit to Chillon Castle. Go in, and 
see the bolt to which the prisoner was chained, in the 
immortal verse of Byron ; and as you return, catch a 
view of those pretty villages which mark the margin 
on the north. A day at Ferney will repay the visit, 
if but for the anecdote of Gibbon's call. He and Vol- 
taire were enemies. On one occasion, Gibbon left 
Lausanne to visit Voltaire. Having been refused by 
the latter, he very calmly seated himself in a chamber, 
and remained three days, hoping to have an interview. 
The poet resisted, and still Gibbon persisted. At 



:**^Mi 




ST. MARTIN. 71 

length, as Voltaire, walking as usual in his garden, 
perceived that he was observed by the latter, he or- 
dered a servant to tell Gibbon " that he had heard of 
certain persons who had taken an inn for a chateau, 
but he it seemed was disposed to take his chateau for 
a tavern." Nothing daunted, Gibbon still remained. 
Finally, Voltaire having learned that Gibbon had 
caught a sight of him by accident, sent his valet again 
to tell him " that as he had seen the beast, he must pay 
eight sous for the look." Gibbon replied : " Here, my 
man, take these sixteen, eight for the one view I have 
had, and eight more for the sight I expect to have of 
him again." The poet, pleased with his sangfroid and 
wit, invited him to dine that day, and ever after they 
remained friends. 

At evening, the fortifications are used by people as 
promenades ; and from the mole stretching out into 
the lake, you have the best view of the chain of Mont 
Blanc. Here one lingers to catch those last and pleas- 
ing impressions of the lake and mountain scenes which 
are treasured up in your recollections of Geneva. 

Next morning we took our carriage and started at 
early day for St. Martin. The road runs most of the 
way along the Arve, rolling its dark and troubled 
water, sprung from its sources at Chamounix. Its val- 
ley is highly picturesque, and those noble mountains 
impending its banks lend a sublime effect to its scenery. 



72 MONT BLANC. 

The Mole now becomes visible, and frowns across the 
muddy stream at the opposite heights of the Brevent. 
At Belleville, the view of these mountain spurs crowd- 
ing the channel is truly magnificent ; your admiration 
increases as you cross that rich plain still overshadowed 
by the Brevent ; and when you enter the pass at 
Cluses, you scarcely know where to escape from these 
high barriers which almost forbid progress. Thus your 
journey is gradually enhanced in grandeur and effect 
until you reach the climax, which is your first view of 
Mont Blanc, " the Monarch," glowing with its masses 
of snow, so brilliant and sublime that it defies all 
power of expression. You catch the best feature from 
the bridge which crosses to Sellenache. At this point 
the path becomes so rugged and narrow that one must 
hire a " char a banc." This vehicle of the country 
much resembles a cushioned bath-tub on two barrows 
crossed. In many parts of the road we were obliged 
to dismount and take to foot. You now pass into the 
very heart of these rocky fastnesses, and mountain 
piled on mountain rise majestically around. Whilst 
winding over the circuitous pathway which leads you 
to the summit, now buried among rocks, now perched 
on the brink of precipices, looking fearfully down into 
those mountain streams which break in white foam 
through their valleys, and dazzled by the glare of eter- 
nal snow above, you are relieved by a temporary re- 



VALLEY OF CHAMOUNIX. 73 

pose at Nervos. Here one first observes those un- 
seemly goitres which deform the human face, and are 
so unsightly that few have nerve to regard them. 
Having baited our animals, we continued on towards 
Chamounix. The landscape differs little until you 
reach the bridge of Pelassier, where it increases in 
wildness and grandeur, and which crossed, opened to 
our sight one of the most fearful defiles of the moun- 
tain chain. At sunset we mounted a rock about two 
miles above the bridge, whence a gorgeous scene pre- 
sented itself. One coup-d'oeil embraced not only a 
panorama of the seasons, but all the varieties of the 
earth's temperature. Deep down in the ravine, the 
rich green of the valley glowed like emerald against 
that rocky foreground ; the lesser Alps, clad in their 
foliage of sombre pine, rose around till vegetation fled 
from those pointed needles, clustering round the eternal 
snows of Mont Blanc, and towering with their pinna- 
cles of glory above the golden clouds breaking about 
his base. The whole gorge, bathed in richest tones of 
purple light, contrasted with those mole-brown sha- 
dows of reflected sunset, whilst emitted flashes of the 
sinking orb gilded the neighboring peaks with crowns 
of light, more . dazzling than the whiteness of their 
fields of snow. Shortly after, we caught a glimpse of 
the valley of Chamounix, nestled within the Savoy and 
Alps ; and here at the very foot of " the Monarch " we 



74 MER DE GLACE. 

laid down our fardels, and retired within the shelter of 
the " Royal." 

The next morning three demure donkeys were 
ranged before us, awaiting to be mounted by our party. 
We were, of course, pleased to learn that our appointed 
guide belonged to that celebrated family of muleteers 
who had been noted for sliding down the Glaciers on 
an avalanche, so that we had no apprehension of an 
ascent up the gentler declivities of Montavert. We 
rode up the valley of Chamounix until we reached the 
foot of the mountain, and thence commenced our slow 
and painful ascent towards the Mer de Glace. 

Winding round the hill you catch glorious views of 
the far-off village nestled among those mountains which 
inclose the valley, until, at a sudden angle of the path, 
you are threatened by those bristling aiguilles which 
guard the margin of the "frozen sea." You do not 
appreciate the grandeur of that upturned ocean of ice 
until you descend from the cottage, to walk among its 
crags and crevices, and look down into those fearful 
chasms which yawn under foot, and show the abyss 
profound. We did not visit that "emerald green," 
where nature smiles the year around, amidst those re- 
gions of eternal snows ; but were content to return to 
the chalet, to partake of savory bread and cheese, and 
crack a joke with an honest family of Dutchmen, too 
fat to descend upon the Glacier, and too practical to 





■ 


i 




$4 




f 








' 




PASS OP THE FORECLAS. 75 

view it by other means than a spy-glass. We started 
again from our inn at Chamounix, and had the same 
guide and mules on our passage to Martigny. We kept 
to the valley along the waters of the Trient, leaving 
the Glaciers behind us, and the Col de Balme to our 
right, until we struck that wild and picturesque bridle- 
path leading to the Pass of the Foreclas. The road 
becomes shadier, and the pretty little fall of the Eau 
Noire relieves the eye as you ride among the dark pines 
which overhang its banks, until you escape into the de- 
file and look back to take a sweeping glance, your last, 
of Chamounix, the Aiguilles, and the Monarch. Onward, 
and the path becomes wilder, now running through 
tunnelled rocks, then over cataract and hill ; at times 
you are perched high above the mountain streams, and 
the sight grows dizzy over those awful precipices which 
tremble with the beating torrent ; and so, on to the 
Tete Noire, as your poor mule picks your way over peb- 
ble and flint, until you gain the Foreclas and its sum- 
mit, whence that fine view is had of the valley of the 
Rhone, and of the ribbon course of the Simplon, stretch- 
ing its length over the plain at Martigny. That Fore- 
clas proved a true Pons Asinorum ; and the man who 
is not deterred by the various fortunes of the road, in 
form of tumble and kick, hair-breadth escape, and fa- 
mine, is fit to travel to Dan, and need not stop this side 
of Beersheba. Tired as we were with that day's work, 
4 



76 MARTIGNY. 

we had zest enough to race into the village of Martigny, 
whilst we urged our donkeys at full speed, with stick 
and stirrup, eager to change our bemired garments at 
the first offers of an inn. Right glad were we to reach 
the " Swan," and no less so our poor jaded jacks, who 
showed their joy by a scream of most varied brayings, 
which shook the very hills of the valley and made them 
resound with their nasal travestie of the Alpine horn. 
There is not much to see in Martigny, for there is no- 
thing in it but the echo and ruin, and one has little 
else to do at the inn but to order dinner, and study out 
that printed carte of prices which hangs on the doors 
of all Swiss taverns, and tells of the conspiracy of Swiss 
Bonifaces in combination against all luckless travellers. 
We took carriages from this to Saint Maurice, and 
hired a guide, one Alois Schmidig, to help us in the 
pursuit of Swiss pastimes. A more honest rogue is 
not to be had in all Switzerland, and the fact of his dis- 
charge on the score of honesty, by a young Hollander, 
who had been travelling on the faith of his note, led us 
to hire him to escape aught worse. The road to Saint 
Maurice is somewhat intermittent from the frequent 
inundations of the Rhone, which give it the aspect of 
a lagoon. Those few buckets-full of water which tum- 
ble over the side of the mountain give to the Pissevache 
the faint image of a cascade. A picturesque hermit- 
age and the quaint old church of the Augustine convent 




■ M ^O^sc. (" 



Passage of the Foreclas. 



VEVAY. 77 

are the only objects which meet you at St. Laurence, 
until you cross the bridge which separates Canton Val- 
lais and Vaux, " where a gate divides two kingdoms." 
This is one of the grandest points of the road out to 
Villeneuve. A few stray peasants, trundled along to 
church in an ox-cart, rather surprised by the abomin- 
able shapes of their head-dresses, than afforded pleasing 
observations as to beauty or costume ; whilst not a few 
unseemly goitres appendant to their throats, rather di- 
vert one's attention from whatever of pleasing they 
might be supposed to have of personal beauty or pic- 
turesque appearance. But Vallais once escaped, there 
is unceasing beauty in nature until one overleaps the 
confines of Canton Vaud, when you find yourself once 
more at the margin of Lake Leman at Villeneuve. 
One happy hour passed in sight of Chillon, and you are 
landed at Vevay. In a moment more you are ushered 
into the comforts of the " Trois Freres," one of the 
best inns in Switzerland, built on the bank of the lake. 
The charming position of the town, its delightful cli- 
mate, those many pleasant excursions on the lake and 
in the neighborhood, with the concourse of agreeable 
strangers, render Vevay a most delightful resort in 
summer. You meet hosts of English snobs at the 
hotels — that singular class of economists who carry an 
atmosphere of fog wherever they go ; who, in spite of 
those comforts which they grieve for " at home," are 



78 LAUSANNE GIBBON. 

the most uncomfortable and damp-looking strangers 
abroad. Our society was much relieved by the pre- 
sence of a stout dowager Marquise and the " bonhom- 
mie " of a gay lad from Geneva, who had fled to the 
seclusion of the lake to escape the recent troubles at 
home. 

We spent several days enjoying the beauty of this 
sweet spot, and were delighted with those charming 
views which claim all praise and admiration, from the 
terrace of the fine old church of St. Martin ; and strolled 
by the shore walk, where every evening groups of fair 
citizens promenade near the margin, in sight of that 
pretty Gothic chateau of the Landvoigtei. As you 
ride along the banks to Lausanne, you do not wonder 
that Rousseau should have chosen such sweet nature 
to be inhabited by the presence of his Julie. The whole 
path runs through a vineyard, and gives prospects out 
on the lake, or over the mountains of opposite Savoy 
and Mont Blanc. The hotel where you dine has little 
left of the residence of Gibbon, or of those rooms in 
which he wrote the Decline and Fall of the Roman 
Empire. Near by is the noble viaduct crossing the 
Fons, which divides the lower and upper town ; whilst, 
prominent over the rugged sides of the abyss, stands 
that fine old Minster Church, grand in proportion, and 
evidencing the transition age of the early pointed 
Gothic, from which you descend down some rough and 



FREIBURG. 79 

unsightly stairs to the quaint old Bishop's Castle, now 
used as the Canton Stadthouse. 

The rain fell in torrents and obscured our ride from 
Lausanne to Moudon ; and night closed in, as we rode 
through its gates and descended at the antiquated 
" Stag," whose capacious rooms, ranged round a com- 
mon hall, were large enough to admit a caravan, and 
chamber the animals into the bargain. 

We were glad to escape from this hostelry, and 
even in the rain to ride to Freiburg, only baiting our 
horses at Payerne. On the road you pass one of the 
largest Jesuit foundations in Switzerland. You enter 
this capital under its queer old gateways, studded by 
singular old towers of defence. Within, the houses 
are guarded by strong iron railings at the windows, 
which speak of those warlike pages in its history, 
when each house was a separate castle. The rapid 
course of the Soane divides the city into two fearful 
chasms, over which two remarkably high suspension 
bridges are hung. That stream also marks a pe- 
culiarity of dialect ; Dutchmen occupy one bank and 
Frenchmen the other of the upper town. Many of 
the houses are built up the declivity of its steep banks; 
and oftentimes the stream passes under the foundations 
of the houses. In the High Church of St. Nicholas, is 
that world-known organ, which has no equal except 
at Haarlem ; we were prevented, however, from hear- 



80 GATES OF BERNE. 

ing its thunders from the singular reason, that the priest 
was engaged with a prayer for the extermination of 
all Protestant Swiss, and invoking curses on all ene- 
mies of the JSunderbund. The terrace of the Zah- 
ringer Hof commands one of the most striking features 
of the Galthern valley, on which the greater part of the 
town is ouilt, and presents a series of the most curious 
geological faults to be seen in Switzerland. We can 
commend the good fare and excellent Beaume of mine 
host, for, certes, one warms into the appreciation of 
scenery, after a good glass of negus, who comes miser- 
ably soaked out of those drenching rains which often 
overtake you in a hurry, in travel. 



The sun was setting, as we entered the gates of 
Berne ; groups of happy villagers were seated under 
the shade of those lofty elms, which line the road-side 
leading to the city ; and gay peasants, in the Bernese 
garb, strolling, in the cool of the evening, among the 
gardens and promenades which hang on the outskirts 
of its walls, enjoyed the pleasing outlines of the distant 
Oberlands. 

These graceful Alps limit your views to the horizon, 
on the south ; and lend their charming features to that 
landscape which renders the situation of this Swiss 
Diet seat, one of the most beautiful and attractive in 
Switzerland. 



LEGENDARY BEARS. 81 

Associated with some early legends, and connected 
somehow with the origin of this capital, are those 
rampant bears, which are still seen, on the city arms. 
Such favorites are these animals with the citizens, that 
an annual sum is voted for their support, and they 
are maintained as pensioners, for the diversion of the 
young, in deep pits sunken within the suburbs. 

One is particularly struck with the profile of this 
quaint old town ; the odd construction of its houses ; 
those many red towers looming over its roofs ; its ar- 
caded side-walks, its streets raised above the footway ; 
and the bold tapering needles of its spires, thrown in 
such fine relief against the clear atmosphere of its 
northern sky ! 

There are few cities which command so many 
mountain prospects or present so singular and striking 
an aspect, within or from without, as it rises on the 
semi-insular bend of the Aar. That view of the 
Oberland, taken from the Minster's terrace, is glorious ; 
and at its brink, you look fearfully down on the lower 
town, and shrink with terror at the story of that fear- 
ful leap, " whence dauntless horsemen plunged below, 
unscathed." A noble stone bridge joins the old and 
new town. 

Among the minor attractions of the town, are its 
baths and the hour-clock, its fountains and its Diet, 
composed of those singular representatives of Swiss 



82 LAKE OP THUN. 

honor, with their red and black cloaks, who look as if 
they strove to represent the division of their parties by 
their habits, or to unite their French and German con- 
stituency, in the double colors of their mantles. 

There are few prettier roads than that which leads 
from Berne, by way of Thun to Interlacken. You 
can always meet with a " voiture de retour " to take 
you along the margin of Lake Thun ; a ride which 
gives you more picturesque scenery, than a passage in 
the steamer. At Thun, the vivid Aar leaps exultingly 
from the narrow limits of its rock fastnesses, and 
bounds through the village, rolling its waters of crystal 
clearness and ultra-marine, like two rich veins, joining 
to mingle in the bosom of the lake. 

High above the village, stand the picturesque ruins 
of its castle ; and near by, from the opposite height, 
the belvidere of the Pfarr Church commands a glorious 
prospect over the romantic shores. 

Midway on the lake you pass the ruined castle of 
Spitz ; and the entire shore presents a succession of 
delightful views, and reflections of those noble hills, 
which frown over its opposite banks. 

Unterseen lies at the foot of the lake ; and with 
Interlacken fills up the valley, and that plain, which 
separates Lake Thun from Brientz. 

The society of Interlacken is almost exclusively 
English. Its situation is unusually beautiful, and 



LAUTER-BRUNNEN. 83 

climate delightful. The narrow lake of Brientz af- 
fords its charms to those curious enough to venture 
to the miniature waters of Fall Griesbach ; under 
which cascade you purchase those curious wooden 
toys, that are made by the inmates of the neighboring 
cottage. You return to your hotel, to watch the 
eternal snows of the Jungfrau, as it closes up the 
valley ; and glows with its masses of transcendent 
brightness. Its lofty and sublime peaks dazzle with the 
brilliancy of those icy fields ; and its summit blazes 
with a crown of light as pure as a vestal's robe ; a 
glorious prospect of what awaits you in the Oberland 
beyond ; a constant source of incitement to the pursuit 
of those beauties, which lie ensconced within the rocky 
barriers of those impendent hills. 

That deep cut in yon mountain, marks your course 
over the plain to Lauter-brunnen. It is a rough and 
stony road for your carriage ; but your mind is too 
much enwrapped among those sublimities of nature, 
to be concerned about personal inconvenience. 

Crossing by the Castle of Unspannen overlook- 
ing the scene of the peasants' annual fetes for wrest- 
ling, you come abruptly to that high rock which 
blocks the way to the ravine beyond, and marks the 
spot of a horrid fratricide. The Boir Stein still wit- 
nesses that deed of darkness, in those foul stains of 

blood, that mar its surface ; and casts a mournful 

4* 



84 GRINDELWALD. 

shadow on the Lutchine's gurgling stream, flowing 
amidst the seclusions of that gloomy defile, the grand- 
est in your path. About a mile from Lauter-brunnen, 
the Staubbach (or Dustfall) drops its graceful veil of 
water, over the shelving of yon beetling crag ; and in 
its long descent, scatters showers of mist and beauty, 
before it breaks its arrowy curve against the rough 
margin of its rocky basin below. 

A short distance beyond a bridle-path winds up the 
mountain, in the ascent of the Wengern Alps to Grin- 
delwald, and then pursues its zigzag course, increasing 
in wildness and grandeur, until the summit is attained ; 
whence you look back and catch a crow's view of the 
low valley beneath, and view the clear waters of the 
Dustfall, which now seems like a ribbon suspended 
from the precipice, and so slight is its pliant form, that 
the winds blow it aside like vapor. 

At the relay-house you have a glorious sight of the 
Jungfrau, Eigerhorn, and other of the Bernese chain, 
whilst every instant the air rings with the thunder of 
tumbling and crashing avalanches. 

Beyond this, the path increases in wildness and 
sublimity. 

Our poor beasts scrambled with pain over the 
rocky traces of the footway. We were obliged to 
dismount, and walked, at times, through a drenching 
rain ; now taking shelter under a chalet, and again, 



GRINDELWALD. 85 

under those almost solitary trees which battle for exist- 
ence in this wilderness of granite. We should have 
almost despaired of ever reaching a cover that night, 
but for the example set us by two courageous ladies, 
who bore the fatigues of this terrible journey with 
noble fortitude. 

That night we stopped at the village of Grindel- 
wald, lying at the foot of its glacier. We were enter- 
tained at the inn by the songs of the peasants, and the 
conversational French of some English gentleman, giv- 
ing an account of his passage over these mountains ; 
during which, we thought, had his ascent been accom- 
panied with the same irregularity as his description, 
he could have chosen no better exponent than this con- 
glomerate of broken and disjointed Gallic. 

A bright and glowing sunshine broke over the sum- 
mit of the Sheidoeck, at which we arrived, as some 
peasants were assembling for the dance. The sound 
of simple melodies in this distant land was too potent 
for resistance, and no sooner heard, than we all dis- 
mounted, and joined in with the mountaineers. 

Here also we listened to those lugubrious echoes 
of the Alpine horn, an instrument which defies all 
power of description, and claims no origin, except 
it be in the mouth of some ancient geological mas- 
todon. 

Keeping in sight of the Wetter, Eiger, and Engels- 



86 MEHRINGEN TO GRIMSEL. 

horn, we hurried on, and soon commenced a descent 
into the picturesque valley of the Rosenlaui. At its 
foot, that pretty fall leaps over the last steps of the 
mountain, and sends its rapid waters to join the melt- 
ing streams of that sweetest of all forms of glacier, 
which rises at the side of the Angel-horn. 

Beyond this, on the way to Mehringen, you pass 
the Seidfall, as insignificant, although not less beautiful 
than others, on the road leading to the highlands, and 
overlooking the village. 

Leaving it, with the greater fall of the Reichen- 
bach on our left, we crossed the plain, and entering 
the Boden Pass, followed the valley of Aar as far as 
Guddanee that night. 

Crags and precipices rise abruptly over the rapid 
and boisterous stream of the Aar, as you emerge from 
the rugged sides of the Boden. 

Mountain follows mountain in terrible succession, 
and these rocky barriers rise, like mural defences, 
against the ever lowering mist of their regions. Their 
stony faces are so moistened by perpetual dews, that 
scarcely foothold can be had for man or beast. The 
defiles become more narrow, the path more intricate ; 
and it is with timorous step that you are led by the 
brink of some fearful chasm. 

Misshapen and huge piles of rock strew the way, 
straggling in singular confusion of the road, until the 







FALLS OF THE AAR 



DEAD SEA HOSPITAL. 87 

sounds of thundering waters strike the ear, as you 
come out amidst those chaotic masses, where the Aar 
leaps in its crazy fury over the gates of these mountain 
gorges. 

This spot is the climax of sublimity and awe ; and 
as you walk out on that slight plank which overhangs 
its brink, you feel suspicious of your foothold, and 
tremble with the motion of its waters. 

That sight is beautifully relieved by the contrast of 
its muddy waters with the clear and gentle stream, 
which runs in close proximity into the same abyss. 

Passing thence onward, your admiration is sus- 
tained by the wildness of its margin, and the stupen- 
dous height of those overlooking mountains ; and all is 
grand and sublime in effect, until you reach the gloomy 
and sterile district of the Grimsel. 

Our over-excited minds and wearied bodies found 
relief, even in the placid gloom of its dark and sullen 
lake. That dark sea seemed like a funeral pall over 
the death of nature ; and its terrible grandeur is height- 
ened by the presence of overhanging cliffs, casting 
their long and black shadows over the surface of those 
mystic waters. 

All here is sterile and barren ; and save the shel- 
tering roof of the Hospital, its solitary inmates, and a 
few goats scrambling among the crags, all is deathlike 
and deserted. 



88 ASCENT OF THE PURCA. 

The saddle-formed ridge of the Grimsel rears its 
gloomy head over the margin of that pond, and divides 
the path to Italy from the Rhone. You climb up its 
stony steeps, and through its perpetual mist, grope your 
direction to the glacier beyond. 

Here the guide led us by his own instinct, some- 
times over the surface, and at times by the side of the 
frozen sea, until we emerged from obscurity to the 
more accessible, but less firm base of the Furca. 

During its ascent, you catch a grand view of this, 
the most magnificent of Alpine snows. The glaciers 
of the Rhone impressed us even more than the Mer- 
de-Glace, as it stretched its icy walls across the valley, 
and dropped from the mountain tops like a cataract 
frozen in its fall. 

The summit of the Furca came after a tedious as- 
cent, but not without provoking the laughter of a party 
of Austrians upon our appearance and the aspect of 
our fat friend, whose embarrassment on muleback was 
not dissimilar to Panza's position amid the Sierras of 
Morena. 

We were indignant at this outbreak on our misfor- 
tunes, and would have stopped to settle a round with 
our guides, but for the peaceful influence of the cause 
of this untimely merriment. 

On descending the Furca, you gain your first sight 
of the St. Gothard and its chain. A few wild flowers 



SAINT GOTHARD ROAD URI. 89 

now growing by the roadside afford a pleasing contrast 
to the desert we had passed, and beyond, the comfort- 
able lodge of the monk at Realp gave us an appetite 
and zest to enjoy our hurried march to Hospenthal. 



SAINT GOTHARD ROAD. 

We had now reached the St. Gothard road to Italy. 
We dismissed our guides, and took a carriage for 
Altorf. 

The hole of Uri is no unfit introduction to the 
fearful wildness of the country beyond. 

Shortly after passing this tunnelled rock, amid the 
howling of the wind, a beating rain, and almost envel- 
oped by the low clouds drawn by the swift current of 
the Aar, we came suddenly upon the " Devil's Bridge," 
so terrible in situation, and so gracefully suspended 
over that dashing and furious torrent. Never was 
spot more fitly named, nor time more opportune to 
view. This road is one of the best in Switzerland, 
and is surpassed by none in the beauty of its scenery. 
In spite of the rain and storm its grandeur was ever 
prominent, and our interest was sustained during the 
entire_ journey, even to the environs of Altorf. 

We walked over to Burglen, where a small chapel 
marks the birth-place of William Tell. The Reuss 
flows with its rapid waters beside the homestead, and 



90 LAKE TELL's CHAPEL. 

near the bridge, from which we viewed it from the 
bank, its current rolls over the spot of his untimely 
grave. He was drowned in his attempt to rescue a 
child, during an inundation. 

An hour's walk brings you to Fluellen, situated at 
the foot of the Lake of four Cantons. 

Four stalwart oarsmen pulled us to the chapel of 
William Tell, located about midway, on a ledge of 
rocks projecting into the lake, and marking the spot 
whence he escaped Gesler's vengeance. 

Its wild and secluded position makes a sweet 
picture amidst those shelving mountains : and thence 
you command the most striking features of those 
waters. 

Shortly after, we landed at Brunnen, from which 
you obtain a long vista down the entire lake. Here 
we took conveyance for Arth, passing through the 
very heart of Switzerland, Canton Schweitz, from 
whence its name, and in which the Jesuits have one of 
their largest establishments. I could not but be amused 
by our guide's contempt for such unnecessary expen- 
diture in this poverty-stricken district, or by his 
quiet assurance, " that those drones should be driven 
away, and that college would be better used as an 
alms-house." These words were truthfully fulfilled that 
very summer, when all Jesuits were banished from 
Switzerland. We were struck by the many chapels 



BRUNNEN TO LOWERTZ. 91 

which deck the roadside, at which some peasants knelt 
in silent prayer, and counted beads before the image 
of the Virgin. One cannot but sympathize with the 
sorrows of a heart whose body suffers in the stormy 
trials of life. Far be it from any to scoff at these forms 
of devotion, but rather respect a feeling, even super- 
stitious, as it may seem, which has but one spark of 
the element of true religion. 

You are charmed by the pleasing landscapes which 
fill up the valley to Lowertz ; — that pretty village en- 
sconced at the angle of its lake, as it is watched over by 
two giant " mitres," irregularly bold and abrupt peaks, 
which stand as sentinels over its beautiful repose. 

The road now ran along the margin of this pictu- 
resque lake, and a short ride brought us in sight of 
Goldau, which still bears the marks of that fearful ava- 
lanche in 1806, when the Rossberg was shaken from 
its base and slid into the valley, covering its inhabit- 
ants and houses with the debris of its fall. The old, 
imburied town has been replaced by a new one. The 
whole landscape wears yet a misshapen and abnormal 
form. Huge boulders lay scattered over the plain, and 
are fearful evidences of the violence and force of na- 
ture when a mountain is set in motion by an earth- 
quake. 

The sun was setting over the Lake of Zug, as we 
looked out from the porch of the " Aigle Noir," and 



92 SUNSET ON LAKE ZUG. 

watched the last lingering tones of daylight stealing 
away from its placid waters, and softening the outlines 
of these distant mountains. 

In that hour of soft repose, when the last waves of 
daylight roll from the face of nature, and the shadows 
fall dark and long, the soul is seized with the trans- 
forming power of creation, and elevated to devotion 
and adoration of such beauty. It is the gentle beauty 
of her lakes, which contrast so sweetly with the wild- 
ness and sublimity of her mountains, that makes up the 
poet's idea of Switzerland. Magnificence and beauty 
are wedded in the birthplace of the Swiss. 

There is a pretty bridle-path, which leads from 
Arth to Kussnacht ; and by the roadside, on the mar- 
gin of the lake, stands another chapel commemorative 
of Tell, as it rises in association with the death of 
Gesler. 

Lucky is he, who finds a clear day to ascend the 
Righi. I have known parties to wait a week to hail 
the sunrise from its glorious culm. We arose at dawn, 
and started with the promise of fair weather. Our 
party, mounted on steeds which would have rivalled 
the bare bones of Rosinante, commenced the ascent, 
and were fortunate in reaching the summit without 
rain. 

The view from the top is magnificent, and extends 
over all that glories in the name of Switzerland. That 




Descent in the rain from Righi Culm. 



EIGHI CULM EINSIEDELN. 93 

panorama, from its sublimity, beauty, and extent, has 
no equal in Europe. Lakes, villages, mountains, Alps, 
all lay stretched out on the face of nature. It seemed 
the very pinnacle of natural glory. It is one of those 
spots from which the soul wings its flight to regions of 
celestial bliss, and poised amid transports of transcend- 
ant joys, revels in those visions of infinite purity and 
love which magnify our relations to eternity. 

We enjoyed the view so long as to be fully impreg- 
nated with its magnificence, and until a heavy and ob- 
scuring mist rose from the valley and spread its veil 
over the whole landscape. 

As we descended, we crossed the mountain directly 
to the vale of the Capuchin Convent, and ere we were 
under shelter the rain fell in such torrents as to render 
our further progress uncomfortable. 

That misfortune rather added zest to our sport, and 
as we descended in the rain, our guides assured us 
that there never was so gay a party, such good horses, 
or such generous men as the Americans. We, in re- 
turn, so charged them with the ideas of liberty and 
money, that they almost swore they would come to 
the country. 

That same afternoon we crossed over the spur of 
hills which runs at the side of the Rossberg, on our 
way to " Eremite." We reach Einsiedeln about night- 



94 SHRINE AT EREMITE PILGRIMS. 

fall, and next morning walked into the church of the 
Benedictines, in which is the shrine of the black Virgin 
and black Child. One is rather surprised to remark 
this color of the Madonna and her infant, a discrepancy 
which was readily overcome by the discovery of the 
image in Africa. I 

This resort of the faithful is annually visited by one 
hundred and fifty thousand pilgrims, who arrive, wea- 
ried and fatigued from their march, to drink the waters 
of life out of the springs which gush forth in the 
porches before the cloister. 

That mountain has an identity with the Sermon 
on the Mount, and one fountain is the same as that 
from which our Lord slaked his thirst ; which one, the 
faithful even know not, but for fear of mistake they 
drink out of all. 

Within the church are the remains of all the saints 
in Christendom, set in glass coffins, to be viewed in all 
their ghastly deformity. 

We escaped from this scene of beggarly supersti- 
tion, heart-sick with the mummery of that infant 
darkey, and were glad to breathe the free air of Rap- 
perschwyl, as we came once more in sight of the wa- 
ters of Lucerne. 

The gentle shores of the lake enliven the roadside, 
which is richly cultivated with vineyard and orchard. 



FALLS OP THE RHINE. 95 

The pretty village of Zurich adds its charms at the 
head of the lake. 

Zurich has many points of interest, but no pecu- 
liarity over other Swiss towns. The country about it 
is very flat, although in a high state of cultivation ; and 
the plain which you cross at the intersection of the 
Duchy of Baden, is covered with pretty villages. On 
the road to Schaff hausen, you pass through the towns 
of Jettson and Lotteson, which afford a strong contrast 
of misery and filth to the neatness and propriety of the 
Swiss. 

The hotel at SchafFhausen commands a striking 
prospect of the Falls of the Rhine ; but a still better 
view is obtained by crossing the stream to the pictu- 
resque chateau of Laufen. Two pretty Swiss maidens 
crossed with us in the boat. They were dressed in the 
perfection of the Bernese costume, and seemed highly 
pleased at viewing those Falls, in whose neighborhood 
they had spent all their lives. 

Owing to the many heavy rains, the Falls were 
fuller than usual ; and their effect was much height- 
ened by a sight through colored lenses which gave to 
the same scenes the various tones and aspects of the 
seasons. 

We rode on to Waldshut that night, and lodged in 
an inn which had been formerly the mansion of some 
royal duke. The next morning we continued on to 



96 LAUFENBURG. 

Basle, passing through many small villages, and by the 
side of the Rhine. 

At Laufenburg this river has a wild and rapid move- 
ment, and at the mill the stream swells to the fury of 
a cataract. 



OVER THE BORDERS OF FRANCE, SWITZER- 
LAND, AND GERMANY. 

BASLE. 

The site of Basle, extending on both sides of the 
Rhine, was highly striking ; the more so, from being 
the first river town of note in our course. Its features 
are more particularly German than Swiss. Its cathe- 
dral is of a Gothic style, peculiar to the north ; and 
outside, on its portals, are two striking stone images, 
such as are rarely seen in any other lands but Ger- 
many and France. There is an excellent collection of 
Holbein's in the Museum, besides a good copy of the 
" Dance of Death." 

We felt, however, that we were more especially out 
of Switzerland ; and in order to give full force to our 
German entrance, the whole party took to meershaums 
and tobacco. 

Outside the town you take the railroad for Stras- 



98 STRASBURG CATHEDRAL. 

burg, and pass most of the way on the confines of 
France. 

The classic Dome rises in sight for miles before 
you enter within this city, which has little else than the 
cathedral and its phtes de foie gras. We mounted to 
the pinnacle, more for the sake of admiring the minute 
finish of the stone tracery of the tower, than for that 
dull view over the flats of the Rhine. The whole 
exterior may be deemed the perfection of ecclesiastical 
Gothic, and will live with the memory of Erwin of 
Steinback, as the noblest work of man ever dedicated 
to the worship of the Incarnate God. 

At Kehl, about one hour's ride from Strasburg, 
you pass the bridge of boats over the Rhine, and here 
take the cars for Baden-Baden. This European Sara- 
toga is one of the most charming spots on the Conti- 
nent. Its central position renders it accessible to all 
nations ; as you observe from the features and lan- 
guages of its visitors, who are Jews and Gentiles, 
French, Germans, Russians, Swiss, — everybodies and 
nobodies. 

Its environs are truly delightful, and your daily 
drives are to the castle of the Princess Sybilla, la Favor- 
ite, and up the valley of the Mungthal to the Fabrick. 
Every path through the town is a walk of pleasure. 
The old ruined castle, Eberstein, is one of the most 
delightful promenades, and commands a most pictu- 



BADEN-BADEN. 99 

resque view of the country beyond the Mungthal val- 
ley, extending on fair days to the distant spire of Stras- 
burg and the town of Speyer. 

In the Cursaal, you can be diverted with a look at 
the gambling tables, which are open to the public. 
Both sexes are admitted, if foreigners ; but no subject 
of the duke is allowed to play. 

In the evening, a fine band of music played in the 
open square, in front ; and the ground was covered 
with groups, scattered around the tables, before the 
cafes, smoking and drinking coffee. Besides these, 
balls, concerts, baths, and converzationes are added, to 
complete the numerous amusements of this curious 
watering-place. There was every thing here but beauty 
in their women, who lack even the consolation of 
making an uglier grimace before their glasses. 

We secured our seats in the railroad for Heidelburg. 
The country through which we passed was well culti- 
vated, and abounded in tobacco. You pass along the 
valley of the Neckar, and occasionally catch a view of 
a picturesque ruin seated on those hills which border 
the immense plains of this region. 

HEIDELBURG. 

Heidelburg is famous for its University, but chiefly 
for its glorious old castle, that frowned for ages over 

5 



100 HEIDELBURG CASTLE. 

the quiet village below, and still casts its shadows over 
the Neckar, which flows at its feet. In its ruin, it is 
magnificent, and evidences not only those formidable 
intrenchments of Baron robbers of old, but a beauty of 
architectural proportion and comfort which is rarely 
met with in the frailer tenements of modern date. 

At evening, when the pale moonlight gleams 
through the casements of its crumbling walls, there is 
a witchery in the scene, which entrances the sight, 
and little effort of the mind is needed to revive the 
spirit of its ancient days, or to people its halls with 
vassal and train ; and, less than magic, to lull those 
soft summer winds into the music of gay troubadours, 
singing the lays of ancestral feats and prowess. It is 
a grand old ruin. 

The famous old tun which lies in the cellar, is the 
same as that filled with wine at vintage time; and, 
when holding its 800 hogsheads, then was the time for 
peasants to dance upon its head, at the crowning feast 
of the autumnal harvest. 

There are many beautiful walks in the woods be- 
hind the castle, and glorious landscapes over the Neckar 
and its plains. 



GOETHE THE ARIADNE. 101 



FRANKFORT-ON-MAIN. 



Frankfort glories in the celebrity of its Goethe, 
to whom they have erected a noble bronze statue just 
opposite his former residence. We stopped here long 
enough to see the " Ariadne " of Danneker ; that beau- 
tiful statue, of such soft repose and grace, that it repays 
all the trouble which you have in seeing it. 

We left this singularly Jewish town, which has 
been given up to commerce and old clothes, for May- 
ence, on the Rhine. This military post affords little 
beyond the strength of its fortifications for admiration. 
It is here you take the steamer, and commence the 
celebrated and much travelled Rhine trip. 



VOYAGE DOWN THE RHINE. 



THE RHINE. 



One has heard too much of the Rhine. Poets have 
sung its beauties ; freebooters, barons, have governed 
in its castellated hills, and under the name of lords 
protectors, have been ever ready to pounce upon their 
unsuspecting subjects, and rob them of their harvests 
and their freights. 

The whole interest of the Rhine begins at Mayence, 
and ends at Bonn. In that space lie all its castles, 
picturesque villages, hamlets, palaces, and vineyards. 
These castles lend their charm of ruined loveliness to 
the beauty of the landscape, and form chambers of 
hallowed memories, in which all that is beautiful in 
thought and fancy lingers ; their ruined walls lifting 
their forms over the vine-clad slopes, are subjects for 
the pencil, and for works of fiction ; the well-terraced 



THE RHINE TRIP. 103 

vine spreads its mantle over its peaceful hills, and the 
naked rocks glow with the berry and the grape. 
Towns and hamlets speak forth their tales of ancient 
deeds of fearful wonderment and woe ; they charm 
by their histories, and combine with its rapid stream, 
castellated heights, pretty round towers, steeples, and 
vineyards, to hallow the associations of the Rhine ; 
whilst every object seen, as grouped by art and nature, 
tends to harmonize those feelings which have been 
cherished with beauty and nourished with religious 
care, for the entertainment of the heart or the inspira- 
tion of the excited fancy. All, indeed, is beautiful ; 
and fairer yet, at evening, when the moonbeams play 
on the rippling waves, and the fitful shades of light 
clouds break into fantasies of enchanted visions. 

But there is a fairer river which flows amid thy 
hills, Manhattan ; and thine is a beauty which the old 
world knows not. On thy banks, sweet Hudson, are 
scenes of gentler mien ! and thine is an enchantment 
of more truthful force ; thy legends are not traced 
with the finger of blood, nor thy clear surface ruffled 
by the fearful waves of tyranny. The pure airs of 
liberty are wafted over thy waters, and the free people 
thy shores. Give me the Hudson ! The Rhine may 
be named apart ; take away its castles and those vines, 
its poetry, and all is muddy, turbid, and rocky. Avaunt 
ye visions of the Rhine ! keep your dismantled castles 



104 DIEUTZ AND GARDENS. 

as the watchtowers of sour grapes, and give us a lodge, 
even in a garden of cucumbers, in America. 



COLOGNE. 

Johannisberg, Rudesheim, Bonn, Ehrenbreitstein, 
and Coblentz, are among the many pretty and interest- 
ing towns which cheer your sail down the Rhine to 
Cologne ; but nothing pleased so much as the approach 
to this city, with the bold outlines of its noble Dome, 
and its numerous church towers looming in glorious 
sunshine against the dark gathering clouds of an eve- 
ning storm. 

It was Sunday ; and all the town were out, and 
gathered about the gardens and cafes at Dieutz. Its 
noble cathedral, over 400 feet in length, with its unfin- 
ished tower, when completed, (of which there is little 
hope,) will form one of the most imposing edifices in 
Europe. That view of the city had from the opposite 
bank of the Rhine, perfects the outlines of its features 
and harmonizes the whole into a pleasing picture. I 
found the garden full of people, variously occupied at 
seltzer water and tete-a-tete ; and, strolling among its 
walks, whilst they smoked and drank, I listened to the 
music of the bands, until I stopped, with fixed gaze, to 
watch the beautiful effects of sunset gilding the spires 



SCENTS AND PERFUMES. 105 

of the distant city. Cologne is, nevertheless, one of 
the filthiest cities in Europe. 

" Ye gods ! what stenches in your streets 
The oft offended nostril meets." 

Such scenes alone account for the abundance of Co- 
logne water, and nought but so stern a nuisance could 
have called forth the genius of Farina's invention. 

Although it was Sunday, all the shops were open, 
and the market-places full of buyers and sellers. 

The Rhine ceases to interest at Cologne, whence 
its banks continue flat, monotonous, and dull, even as 
far as Arnheim. 



HOLLAND. 



AMSTERDAM. 



When you first set your foot on Dutch ground, (if 
that may be called soil which is nothing but piles and 
mud,) you can do nothing better to amuse yourself, 
than read about the eleven thousand virgins who were 
drowned somewhere about the lower Rhine, and whose 
bones are so neatly classified in the old church at Co- 
logne ; but you must pin your faith on the legend of 
those vestals, for never since that day have so many 
maids been found in Germany. 

No sooner do you approach Dutch territory, than 
you are reminded of their nationality, by a sight of 
those lumbering arms of windmills which indicate a 
Dutchman, as well as a hovering buzzard the presence 
of some neighboring carcass. These flying Dutch- 
men are not unfit emblems of the untiring industry of 



WATER PROSPECTS SIGHTS. 107 

a people, who, by force of continual pumping, draining, 
diking, and canals, have reclaimed a vast territory from 
the sea, and set up their cities upon masts from the 
forests of Norway. Again, honest Mynheer, with his 
pipe, is no bad illustration of practical philosophy ; and 
whilst he throws smoke in his neighbor's eyes, is all the 
while chewing his quid of lucrative and shrewd specu- 
lation. 

Amid darkness and these reflections, we were ush- 
ered at night into Amsterdam, one of their most nota- 
ble cities. Built entirely upon driven piles, along the 
arms of the Y, it assumes the form of a demi-lune, 
and becomes the very embodiment of the Dutch them- 
selves, just saved between wind and water. 

That grand view from the Stadthaus belfry, but for 
the Amsel and its bank, would be Venetian. Just 
walk out from your hotel and see the versatile move- 
ments of the people, their occupations, and their habits. 
You may take few by-paths, but much water ; you 
can go by wind, water, steam, or carriage. On water, 
you move by dreyschutz, scow, flatboat, or galleon ; 
and on land, by sledge, drosky, sedan, or sabot. Just 
look over the bridge, and see the jumble of a Chinese 
landscape, or fancy a Dutch travestie of Hogarth's 
false perspective, where you have trees with shipping, 
houses and canals, boats and windmills, all huddled 
together in delightful confusion before you. Truly 



108 NEATNESS. 

these people are troglodytes in ships' hold, and no less 
amphibious than the very frogs who croak to their 
evening repose. Some, indeed, go the entire turtle and 
always inhabit the water, and carry these shells, or 
casements on boats, with their whole family, including 
pigs, poultry, and cattle. 

One universal feature of neatness and cleanliness 
pervades their streets and dwellings. The pavements 
are well laid, and the sidewalks, in small bricks, diag- 
onally laid. Their houses are constructed of very 
small bricks, some painted in a dark lead color, and 
others left in the natural, with the most scrupulous pre- 
cision in the pointing of the mortar. Their tiles are 
particularly red ; their green blinds glow with the 
harmonious tone of the trees, and the whole exterior is 
very prim and tidy. To save the bruising of the front 
door, each roof is provided with a projective pulley 
and tackle always in readiness to hoist any furniture or 
luggage, which peeps out so funnily under the eaves, 
as if afraid, or on guard, lest something might slip in 
at the windows. With all this, it is not rumored that 
the Dutch are over nice in their persons ; but, that 
their industry is striking and their women are pretty, 
is as undeniable as my own Dutch origin by my forty- 
ninth cousin. 

The very animals in the zoological gardens bear 
out these specialities of propriety, for the very ducks 



HAARLEM CURIOSITIES. 109 

were sprinkled with the watering-pot, and the swans' 
tails were tied up to keep them free of the water. 

The impression of Amsterdam is pleasing, and one 
leaves with an idea that there are some good Rem- 
brandts in the museum. 

By way of excursion, our next visit was to Haar- 
lem, celebrated for its immense culture of bulbous 
roots, which are sent thence to every quarter of the 
globe, but noted for its grand organ, which was played 
for our gratification, and showed itself to be an instru- 
ment of great value and power. This pretty town 
sustains the reputation of the Dutch for cleanliness. In 
the suburbs are many well-cared public gardens, which 
skirt the line of its ancient fortification, and contribute 
with other attractions to render it a pleasant resort. 

LA HAAG. 

That same night, we passed on to "La Hague," 
known as one of the most interesting towns on the 
Continent, and holding a most agreeable court. The 
presence of the King, and the residence of all the foreign 
ministers, render it truly delightful, even for a sojourn 
of a few days. Its great attraction is the museum, 
which contains some of the finest paintings of the 
Flemish school; among these, ranks first, and lives 
almost on the canvas, " The young Bull " of Paul Pot- 
ter ; nor is it deficient in its collection of German, 



110 MUSEUM — PARK. 

French, and Italian art. In the King's private palace, 
there is also a fine array of paintings and statuary ; be- 
sides one of the choicest portfolios of original crayon 
sketches by Raphael, Rembrandt, and Da Vince, extant. 
My relish for this visit was somewhat lessened by the 
established tariff on admission ; for before you go out, 
you are astonished and shocked at the importunities of 
a nice, and neatly cravatted person, to whom in any 
other country you would have been delicate in offering 
a fee, but who in Holland — and in England, which she 
a p es — under the garb of flunkies and lackeys, lead you 
to suspect any individual, who dresses out of the proper 
habit of a gentleman. 

The old palace, opposite that now owned by the 
King, is shabbily furnished, and has but a poor collec- 
tion of landscapes and royal portraits. 

The museum, besides its paintings, has its gallery 
of curiosities, Japanese and Chinese ; and a sight at 
these royal baby-houses is highly suggestive of the 
facility with which Kings are flattered, and a nation's 
money is absorbed. 

You have the most delightful quarters at the 
" Bellevue " before the Park ; and every morning avail 
yourself of seeing a review of Lancers and Artillery. 

La Hague is chiefly frequented on account of its 
proximity to the sea, and the bathing which can be had 
at Scheveningen. 



SCHEVENINGEN DOG-CARTS. Ill 

This haven is about a league distant, and a fine 
carriage road and footpath runs all the way under the 
shade of overhanging elms ; whilst the avenue is 
skirted by a pretty natural forest. 

As you ride out, you will be amused by the char- 
acteristic costumes of the fishermen and of the Bil- 
lingsgate Dutch fraus, returning on donkeys, or with 
little dog-carts, after their sales in the market-place of 
Haag. Just as we arrived at the town, we saw a gay 
party from Rotterdam, as they dismounted at the inn, 
in all the varieties of fancy costumes, and ready to 
keep carnival at the music of their viols and tambou- 
rines. 

In short, S'Gravenhage (its proper name), its pala- 
ces, court, and resident ministers, with its gardens and 
galleries, baths and libraries, society and manners — 
are so curiously and quaintly grouped together, that 
there is no wonder in finding among them so charming 
a residence. It is, in fact, an assembly of palaces. 

We left La Hague with regret ; and by railroad 
started for Rotterdam, passing through a country suit- 
able only for grazing, and destitute of every object of 
interest, save those lumbering windmills, which beat 
the air in every direction. Schiedam, through which 
you pass, needs not any reputation beyond its Gineva, 
which almost stretches its length to the Port. 



112 STREET-VIEW FIRE LIGHTS. 

ROTTERDAM. 

Rotterdam is purely a commercial town, which 
offers but the attractions of its Cathedral, a statue of 
Erasmus, and that view from the Exchange which 
portrays the singularly triangular plan of the city. 
An hour in the market-place, and a stroll at evening, 
will give you a surfeit of its seafaring character, and 
its over-crowded populace. We were diverted by that 
class of biscuit friers, who exercised their calling by 
torchlight in the lower part of the town, and who 
answered somewhat in description to the Macaroni 
venders of Naples. Here we caught the originals of 
those strong fire-lights, of which certain painters of the 
Dutch school were so fond, and so apt in their imita- 
tions. At the wharves, crowded ships, charged with 
their freight of emigrants, were ready to embark. We 
thought of the possibility of meeting them again in 
America, and passed by, not without a faint suspicion, 
that in some of those vessels there might be the germ 
of a future President. These Dutch beat the very 
deuce for sourkrout and cabbage. 

My companions left me at this point on their route 
to Paris. We parted, not without feelings of deep re- 
gret at separation. Forty days we had been together, 
enjoying the beauties of this land and Switzerland. 
Our various dispositions and tastes were blended in a 



DUTCH ECONOMY IN PILE DRIVING. 113 

common admiration of the beautiful ; and our perfect 
accord led us to a fuller appreciation of our travels. 
Schmidig and I left that afternoon, and returned to 
Amsterdam ; they, to Paris and America. 

We sallied forth after our first pipe — for one soon 
gets in the way of piping to time in Holland — and 
started on an excursion to Saardam ; first having run 
up and down the wharf, thrusting our noses into every 
third house, and perplexing some score of stupid Dutch- 
men by our patois of adapted German. 

We succeeded in finding the office of the steamer 
for Hamburg, where we took passage by securing 
berths for that port. 

Returning over the delicate Dutch tiles, to the 
wharf of the Saardam ferry, we waited patiently, and 
occupied our leisure by watching the constructive 
economy of some Dutch pile-drivers, who were floating 
at work, on a very hazardous platform in the river, and 
were striving to shift a derrick, so as to bear upon the 
object of their labor. We could not but be amused at 
their awkward engineering, and ignorance of mechan- 
ics, as they tugged with a shout, at the ends of fifty 
ropes, whilst they hallooed and grunted as the hammer 
fell, at the loss of their pull all together ; but we re- 
flected that innovation on these habits might prove dis- 
astrous to Dutch character, and that activity and over- 



114 PETER THE GREAT'S HUT. 

exercise would be derogatory to the unity and compla- 
cency of Oulde Holland. 



EXCURSION TO SAARDAM. 

Our ferry started in the midst of our musings. As 
we crossed the river, we had the bold outline of the 
city before us, whilst we observed the numerous craft 
sailing over the Y, under the influence of a strong 
breeze. The land before us seemed wrought into 
tumultuous action under the beating of so many wind- 
mills, here used in every variety of manufacture, and 
in which capital is so universally employed, that they 
have usurped even the probabilities of employing 
steam. 

Saardam, which holds 9,000 people, has lost its im- 
portance for its naval architecture. It is now cele- 
brated from the fact, that Peter the Great here learnt 
the trade of ship building in early youth. Whilst 
there, he occupied a small house which is still shown 
to visitors, and over it the present Prince of Orange 
erected a brick casing, as a sort of mausoleum over the 
memory of departed greatness. 

I was somewhat puzzled to retrace my steps after 
leaving this humble tenement ; and, in my attempt to 
walk through the village, ran against some private 
fences, and barely escaped drowning in some of their 



BUCKSLOOT CHEESE FARM. 115 

particularly neat ditches, spread aside of the cross 
lanes. I found no remedy but to return to the only 
direct and straight path, that of order and propriety, 
the main road, and followed it afoot, over the dike 
which runs indented with the coast and forms a ram- 
part against the ingress of the sea. This was, surely, 
that " long way which has no turns," whilst you have 
nothing upon these flats to relieve your sight, save 
those unceasingly flapping windmills, and a glance at 
the city opposite. At Bucksloot, however, we hired a 
carriage for Brock, and on the way stopped half an 
hour to examine a cheese-farm and its outhouses. 
This dairy is not only a specimen but a type of Dutch 
propriety and neatness, beginning with that tidy young 
maiden who refused a half-crown and a kiss for show- 
ing us the rooms, and descending to the last extreme 
of the cows' tails, which are so primly tied up with 
ribbons, and hung to the ring in clear avoidance of 
aught of taint or filth. These cows are housed in win- 
ter, in the very stalls which glow with an array of the 
plates and china ;n summer. Such stabling, we will 
vouch, is not held by the sacred ox at Cochin. The 
same scrupulous neatness and care ordered the interior 
of the residence. Each room was a curiosity-shop, and 
although pleasing, as characteristic, appeared in very 
bad taste, thus evercharged with such gewgaws and 
trinkets as would best suit baby-houses with us. 



116 STILL LIFE DUTCH UTOPIA. 



BROCK. 

On arriving at Brock, we stopped our vehicle at 
the inn, outside the town ; for no wheels are allowed 
within its sacred walls ; and then walked to see the 
interior. It is, properly, a very small village, with 
lanes instead of streets ; and every house is so con- 
structed, after the precise fancy of each maiden's 
heart, or retired placeman's fancy, that you might 
almost infer the features of each owner from your out- 
side view of their terrestrial abode : so neat a habita- 
tion is rare even in Holland. It is a caricature of 
Dutch fastidiousness, and even outdoes the very 
Dutch. It is intersected by diminutive streets and 
canals. The pavements are of diminutive brick. 
The outer and inner court-yards are paved in mosaic 
of white and black cobble-stones, in faint devices of 
hearts, diamonds, and crosses. The houses are gen- 
erally painted white ; others are tinged with delicate 
pea-green, or touched with the rose. The very fields 
look as if they were occasionally swept out and 
combed. The interior of their houses is rarely seen, 
and the front doors are only opened in the event of a 
death or a marriage. The costumes of the people are 
quite pretty. The women wear a singularly becom- 
ing cap, with their hair dressed in plaits, and orna- 



MOONLIGHT DEPARTURE. 117 

mented with filagree bands and rosettes. Sabots are 
worn by the lowest class, and outer shoes are always 
left on the sill, as they enter the interior in stocking 
feet. Their whole existence is grotesque. Their pe- 
culiarities are equally characteristic as those of the 
Chinese or Turks. Their public garden unites all the 
features of this eccentricity, and is the most interesting 
spot, because it contains the most absurdities. As it was 
carnival, the females seemed privileged to act with more 
freedom than usual, and the occasion gave us an ex- 
cellent opportunity of seeing the people at their fairs. 

We hurried away at sunset, from the dikes and 
ditches, flats and ponds of Brock, and crossed the ferry 
at Bucksloot toll-house, just as the last rays of twilight 
were stealing over the liquid Y. 

PASSAGE OF THE NORTH SEA. 

At midnight, we sailed out of port, and left these 
quiet Dutchmen soundly sleeping within the city, now 
bathed with a rich flood of moonlight, which lent a 
magical effect to the glowing spires of her churches, 
as they towered amid the frosted needles of ten thou- 
sand masts. 

" How sweet the moonlight sleeps," at Amsterdam ! 
That rough and boisterous North Sea roused us from 
this " pale cast of thought" to the stern realities of its 



118 AMSTERDAM TO HAMBURG. 

troubled waters. A strong head wind, added to its ordi- 
nary fickleness, soon reduced our poetic feelings to the 
level of human frailty. Extreme debility and despera- 
tion marked the features of our deck-stretched passen- 
gers. Our common infirmity left us easy victims to 
the revenue officers, who overhauled and cleared us 
in the morning ; as well as to the steward, who 
charged us with meals which we could not eat. Our 
company was a motley mixture of Poles and Russians, 
and there was nothing to interest or relieve this sail, 
until we turned into the Elbe, at Cuxhaven, on the 
second day. 

This river is quite wide at the mouth ; but its sides 
offer little to attract notice, until within a few miles of 
Hamburg; where the banks are bolder, and many 
snug country-seats remind you of the vicinity of a 
large city. We met with some little delay on landing ; 
as we had to be removed in boats, on account of the 
low state of the tide. 



FAT FELLOW-TRAVELLER. 



119 



HAMBURG. 




Widdronscoff, my fat fellow-pas- 
senger, who had quite won my heart 
by his kind application of brandy, 
during the tempests of the North Sea, 
and had more than interested me, by 
his accounts of bear fights and travel 
in the wilds of Russia, purposed to 
join me, at lodgings. Leaving his 
carriage in charge of Schmidig, we 
walked up the " Wall/' and took rooms at Straits'. 

This Russian had three sterling points of character, 
which rendered his company quite agreeable, during 
my stay at Hamburg. He was too fat, not to be good- 
natured, too rich to be parsimonious, and too well-bred 
to be snobby. With him, Hamburg, with its fine 
views, handsome edifices, and gay life, proved its 
reputation of being one of the liveliest, prettiest, and 
greatest cities in Germany. To obtain a complete 
idea of the beauty of its site and its relation with the 
surrounding country, you must ascend to the gallery 
outside the Tower of St. Michaels. This city is 
beautifully laid out with wide streets, and broad 
canals, and has been much improved since the fire of 
1842. 



120 PROMENADES DANCING-HOUSES. 

Most of the hotels lie near the Yungfraustieg, or 
the Maidens' walk, the fashionable promenade along 
the banks of the Binnen Alster, and under your win- 
dow the life of the gay city is spread before you, with 
the brilliant concourse at the cafe", and the boats on 
the basin beyond. 

In the evening, the whole Amster is glimmering 
with the reflections of ten thousand lamps, whilst notes 
of stirring music reach the ear, coming from parties 
of gay revellers on the Binnen : and the gay scenes 
of the dancing halls of the Coliseum and Pavillion give 
you a view of the amusements and diversions of the 
grisettes and mechanics. 

Out of doors you are struck with the neat costumes 
of the Vierlanders, pretty peasant girls, who sell 
flowers and fruits, at every corner, and woo your 
purses whilst you are looking at their blue eyes and 
pretty faces under the rims of their broad-rimmed hats, 
or are following the lines of their twisted braids, which 
droop over their lengthened waists, and are gathered 
into the folds of a very short petticoat, but not to pre- 
vent a sight at a well-shaped leg, or admiration of a 
well-turned ankle and foot. Then watch those serv- 
ant maids, who go tripping along round the corner, 
with their basket on arms, and contents carefully con- 
cealed or covered over by a rich shawl, thrown care- 
lessly over all. 



REITENDEN DIENER. 121 

Nor will you fail to meet that peculiar class of ser- 
vants who are hired out on all occasions ; and are 
equally ready to serve at pall or festival ; Jacks of all 
trades, who change their garbs with their profession. 

These " Reitenden Diener " form the Senate guard, 
and assume no less than five distinct costumes ; on 
horse, with sabre and carbine, under a yellow riding 
cape ; as pall-bearers, in the old style black Spanish 
garb with round perukes ; attending the Burgomasters, 
they wear blue with silver lace ; whilst as undertakers, 
in black frocks ; and at weddings, they assume shorts, 
and the powdered wig with rapier. 

Three of these motley characters passed, as our 
carriage drove off for the station at Alton a, where we 
took our seats for Kiel, in Denmark. 




AM 

Vierland Flower-Girl. 



DENMARK. 

KIEL TO COPENHAGEN. 

The country through which the railroad passes is 
very flat, the soil sandy, and admits of but little culti- 
vation. 

After taking our berths on board the steamer for 
Copenhagen, we were struck with the similarity of their 
words of command with the English ; for there was 
nothing spoken but " baack her " and " stap her." 

We had a fine run that night, and under the light 
of a full moon, soon made our way through the Ost 
Sea. On the morrow, we were agreeably surprised at 
meeting Mr. Flenniken, our charge" at this court, on 
board ; so that our entrance to the harbor was en- 
livened by a pleasant chat over the beauties of the city, 
which lay so charmingly in prospect 



NORTH CAPE THORWALDSEN. 123 



COPENHAGEN. 

Copenhagen is built on the islands of Seeland and 
Amack, which are united by two fine bridges. Be- 
sides the remarkably strong fortifications which defend 
its coast, and its charming and picturesque location, it 
has the peculiarity of having suffered more from war 
and conflagration, than any other city in Europe. 

The day after my arrival, I had the pleasure of 
meeting a class-mate, who had just come from the 
North Cape, after having completed a tour of two 
years in the North of Asia and Europe. One feels 
a sense of diminutiveness on seeing a man who had 
visited Siberia, and lived on fish-skin and whale-oil for 
the last four months ; for I must confess, my preten- 
sions to travel grew less, as I viewed with awe the 
huge beard of my old chum, who had ridden the great 
polar bear, and cast a squint over the crater of the 
Norwegian Maelstrom. In my confusion, I sought 
relief within the chaste proportions of the " New 
Kirche," the King's Chapel; and recovered proper 
balance of mind, in the calm and quiet contemplation 
of what was truly great and beautiful in art, as 
brought out and created perfect under the inspiration 
of Thorwaldsen's genius. There stands his Christ, 

and the twelve Apostles, on each side of the nave, and 
6 



124 CASTLES PALACES. 

behind the altar. Before it is that beautiful baptismal 
font, a simple shell, held by a kneeling angel ; and 
over the portal, is the Sermon on the Mount, exqui- 
sitely touching, in marble bas-relief. The spirit of 
truth, love and devotion breathes in those mute blocks ; 
they animated his finer clay, who inhaled them at his 
birth. 

In an afternoon stroll on the ramparts, our charge* 
introduced Mrs. P., whose husband once represented 
the Danish Court at Washington. We accompanied 
her home, and there met Mr. P., still in possession of 
full health and mental activity. 

The view from the parlor, as we looked out on the 
Castle of Rossburg and its gardens, suggested a visit. 
The next day, we obtained admission by ticket. This 
castle was built, it is said, by Inigo Jones, (1604.) 
It is an irregular brick building of half Gothic, half 
Italian style, flanked by four unequal towers, and is 
only remarkable, beyond its antiquity, for its curious 
array of old armor, costumes, and a dilapidated 
Knight's lodge. The crown jewels are still preserved 
here, and the grounds, by sovereign grace, are used 
daily by the people as a public walk, whilst they are 
much frequented on those evenings on which the band 
plays. 

The Christiansburg palace, now neglected by the 
King, contains a few rooms in excellent taste, among 



LANGE-LINIE CAPTIVE KING. 125 

which the Hall of Justice is alone remarkable. Here 
also you will see the " Triumph of Alexander," one 
of Thorwaldsen's best bas-reliefs. 

Among the many towers of the city, most of which 
are merely designed as watch-towers, or fire look-outs, 
that of the Observatory is most conspicuous, and has 
some claims to antiquity ; and its ascent by the winding 
stone-way is liberal, and gradual enough to admit 
the passage and return of a coach and four, a feat of 
the whip which was performed by the Czar of Russia 
on a late visit. 

The Amalien Plad, one of the most striking squares, 
which is faced by four palaces, and ornamented by 
an equestrian statue of Frederick the Fifth, made a 
happy point on our way to the " lange-linie," a very 
beautiful walk, running between the line of the for- 
tifications and the shore, and commanding fine views 
of the haven, shipping, and opposite coast of Sweden. 
Our walk terminated in the direction of the old castle 
of Frederickshaven, a stronghold with a double 
bastion. Within its prison, an African King was 
confined, whose sole crime (so adjudged, as he thought, 
by force of sheer prejudice and bad taste in Denmark) 
was an afternoon's repast on one of his Danish 
majesty's colonial subjects ; and he has evinced great 
solicitude since his arrest, lest the King of the Danes 



126 SAVANS RELICS OF THE NORTHMEN. 

might apply the " lex talionis," and eat his Blackship in 
return. 

Within a few years past, the savans of the North 
of Europe have been much engaged in inquiries into 
the history of the Northmen, and in the collection 
of curious remains of the arts, usages, and language 
of these nations, which may lead to the development 
of their character and customs, and tend to per- 
petuate their discoveries. The field of observation 
embraces much of Norway and Sweden, but Denmark 
claims the privilege of locating the treasury of these 
researches, from her peculiar forwardness in these 
investigations, and from the testimony of numerous 
facts, which conclude this right in her behalf. Vast 
numbers of relics have been found on the Island of 
Seeland ; and in the Christiansburg Palace, the result of 
these accumulations have been arranged, so as to 
show the progress of these nations from the age of 
stone ; and thence tracing their advancement by the 
use of bone for arrowheads and fish-hooks, to copper 
for utensils, and afterwards to gold for ornaments, 
have descended to the working of mines for iron, the 
last period of their prosperity prior to a relapse oc- 
casioned by luxury, and a subsequent decline into 
barbarism ; from which the first steps to the establish- 
ment of Christianity, and to that increased civilization 
consequent upon its diffusion, are apparent. This 



THORWALDSEN TOMB SOCIAL ETIQUETTE. 127 

cabinet has been very carefully classified ; and we 
were exceedingly interested in a cursory examination 
of this instructive subject. 

Just opposite the Palace, the King has erected a 
large oblong building, designed for the exhibition of 
Thorwaldsen's sculptures and basso-relievos. The ex- 
ternal walls are painted somewhat after the interior 
of the Egyptian tombs ; and ' within, a sepulchre was 
building to receive his ashes. The whole forms a 
noble mausoleum to the memory of this Danish 
sculptor, and is a just tribute from royalty to the 
genius of one of those subjects who make up the glory 
of a reign. 

No obtrusive epitaph marks his monument. Here 
will his works live around him, to tell their story 
of his well spent life. Those speaking statues stand 
as high priests in the temple of his fame. The spirit 
of his genius breathes through those well-filled halls, 
and the hollow tomb resounds with the glory of Thor- 
waldsen. 

A pleasant dinner at P. gave us an insight into 
Danish etiquette at table. In drinking healths, it is 
customary to touch the glasses, and to pronounce the 
word " scoll," — a habit which dates back to the 
Scandinavians of yore, who were wont to drink toasts 
in the skulls of their enemies. After dinner the gentle- 
men retire with the ladies to the saloon, and there is 



128 SOCIAL ETiaUETTE. 

a general shaking of hands with the company, whilst 
a wish is expressed by the host, that your dinner has 
been agreeable and may do you no harm. 

One is charmed with their cordiality and simple 
courtesy. The Court regulates every social system by 
its plain and unostentatious example, and although one 
of the most brilliant in the north, does not permit any 
excess of indulgence, or countenance luxury and ex- 
travagance in entertainments. The King and Queen 
dine at the early hour of three. We attended the 
theatre in the evening, and were pleased with the ease 
and natural action of their stage; although their taste 
in selecting plays is too much after the French school. 

In the plain old Palace of Charlottenlund, a few 
miles from the city, the Queen Dowager has resided 
since the present succession. Her Prussian prejudices 
have been so strongly sustained against this dynasty, 
that she has never allowed herself to set foot on 
Danish soil ; and in order to keep up this illusion, she 
has caused the entire plot of her garden to be filled 
up with German earth. The avenues leading to the 
palace are laid out with delightful shade-trees, and the 
palace grounds are far renowned for the views, and 
the excellent taste which pervades their plan. Every 
effort is made by the king to conciliate and amuse the 
people, in order to keep them free from politics ; so 



TIVOLI GARDENS. 129 

that the pursuit of pleasure seems to be one of the pre- 
rogatives of the lower order. 

Among the many pleasant gardens, that of the Ti- 
voli, outside the gates, affords the best mode of viewing 
the costumes of the peasants of Amack. Its band of 
forty musicians is one of the most agreeable in the 
kingdom, and the grounds are covered with every va- 
riety of diversion and pastime to entertain the vast 
crowds which assemble here at evening ; and every 
variety of theatre, circus, Russian railroad, machine 
paddle-boats, temple, menagerie, and monkey, are em- 
ployed to keep alive and sustain the pleasure-seeking 
tastes of the masses. Vauxhall night is distinguished 
by a brilliant illumination of the grounds and edifices, 
and presents a splendid array of beauty and attraction. 




Amack Feasant. 



130 HELSINGOER HAMLET'S GRAVE. 

There was much taste displayed in the arrangement 
and disposition of the starry hosts of colored lamps, 
and the scene was one of fairy enchantment. 

He who quits the city without an excursion to 
Helsingoer, has yet to learn the truth of Hamlet's 
grave, and the neglect should be visited by a sight of 
the " ghost ;" and no one should fail to see Roskilde, 
where lie all the entombed kings of Denmark. 

No one leaves Copenhagen, or this people, without 
deep regret at parting. 



PRUSSIA. 

TO STETTIN BY STEAM. 

We left Copenhagen by the evening steamer, and 
entered the Oder early next morning. The scenery 
on the Prussian coast has little to interest until you 
approach Stettin, when it assumes a more picturesque 
aspect on the right bank. Stettin, one of the few ports 
in Prussia, is a place of some commercial importance, 
and its situation on the Oder, as it rises prettily off its 
banks, is quite pleasing. 

We spent but a short time in viewing its strong 
fortresses, and those beautiful views of the town and 
of the Oder's opposite banks, which are to be had from 
the promenades outside the Berlin gate. 

In the middle of the Parade Platz, there is a strik- 
ing statue of Frederick the Second. 

The road to Berlin passes over a flat and sterile 
region of country, and is part of that vast sand plain 
6* 



132 BERLIN. 

which extends from the shores of the Baltic, and 
stretches its length even to the confines of Russia. 

BERLIN. 

At last in Berlin, one of the most charming cities 
in Europe ! Nothing can exceed the beauty of your 
first sight of Berlin, taken from the Lust Garden, and 
extending down the Unter den Linden, as far as Bran- 
denburg Gate. No city presents such glorious coup- 
d'oeils. From your window in the Hotel de Russia, 
what a view of the Museum with its beautiful colon- 
nade, and of the chaste architecture of the Zeughaus, 
is presented ! The old Palace, and that noble Dom 
Cupola is before you. All these edifices face those 
pleasant gardens which ornament the grand square of 
the city ; and these, united with those lofty linden 
trees, the Opera House, the Royal Library, University, 
hotels of the ambassadors, and palaces of the princes, 
combine to complete a panorama which is not sur- 
passed, even by the "Concorde,'' and the Champs 
Elysees, at Paris. The whole style of their architec- 
ture so charms, that you regret that they have no 
more solid material than brick and stucco, to perpet- 
uate the genius of their immortal Shinkel. There is 
no end of the attractions of this city, wherein you 
revel among the creations of a Schadow, Tieck, and 



PROPYLCEUM ROYAL CASTLE. 133 

Rauch. Go through street after street, and the eye is 
still pleased with something novel and fair. Visit 
every quarter, and you will find squares adorned with 
statues, and unique bridges suspended over the river. 
Every public building has something in its proportions 
which charms the eye, and its external adornment by 
neat and appropriate ornaments, sculpture, and entab- 
latures, lent a grace to form, which gratifies the mind 
with a full sense of satisfaction. 

That beautiful car of victory drawn by four horses, 
which surmounts the model of the Propyloeum, stands 
as a monument of Napoleon's ravages, and marks its 
restoration by Blucher. And near by the Opera 
House (the very beau-ideal of scenic decoration and 
classic taste) is the erect statue of. that Prince, who 
turned the day at Waterloo. 

You have an exhaustless fund of study and virtu 
in the rare collection of the Royal Museum, where 
your time and taste will be divided between sculpture, 
antiquities, and paintings. 

Next in interest, and surpassing in magnificence 
and luxury all the palaces of royalty, is the show of the 
Grand Palace, or the Castle. In the Knight's Hall, 
they point out that huge silver orchestra, which was 
retaken from the French. The decorations and plate 
of the throne-room vie with the riches of the Incas of 
Peru, where the hangings of the walls are of a gold 



134 ROYAL RELICS OLD PIPES. 

and silver woof brocade, and the thrones of solid gold 
and silver. That ball-room is the most perfect in the 
world. The effect of this palace was pleasing, because 
there was an evidence of good taste in all the abun- 
dance of display and rich material. 

In a remote corner of this castle, and almost under 
the roof, you can discover the rooms which were in- 
habited in the purer age of Frederick the Great, a king 
who has founded the greatness of this people, and of 
whom they are justly proud. Here, amid many re- 
markable relics, are his boots, spurs, yellow plushes, 
and an old cocked hat, with a bullet hole, as worn on 
the day of battle ; and by the window, as you look out 
into the court below, you will see a rack of his old 
pipes, in which he was an amateur. We could not but 
institute a parallel on the resemblance between this 
Lion of Prussia, and that of France, which led us into 
a train of pleasing fancies about the virtues of tobacco, 
and the simple grandeur of two great heroes whose 
calmness did never desert them on the battle-field, so 
long as they had tobacco to smoke or snuff to prize. 

These and other things go to make up the glory of 
the Prussian Empire. The present king inherits much 
of the shrewdness, but little of the prudence of his an- 
cestors. By the former, he has contrived to make his 
capital the centre of great wealth and talent ; and the 
names of Savigny, Humboldt, Ranke, Tieck, and 



SANS SOUCI THE MILL. 135 

Rauchj have rendered his fame more lasting than his 
own personal worth merits. 

I walked out to Charlottenburg to view the grave 
of the lamented Queen Louisa, who died prematurely, 
and much beloved by her subjects. The temple over 
her body by Shinkel, and the statue in state by Rauch, 
are beautifully chaste productions of modern art, whilst 
they are no less simple and appropriate tributes to the 
virtues of the dead. They are without ornament and 
without inscription. Her sculptured effigy lies there in 
sweet repose, and the Prussian eagle at her feet alone 
marks her descent from the royal house of Brandenburg. 

POTSDAM. 

A quiet excursion is that to Potsdam, the summer 
residence of the royal family, situated on a broad bend 
of the Spree. Its position and aspect are more pleas- 
ing, because more varied than that of the capital. 
Sans Souci, a more retired attachment to the palace, 
is laid out in most delightful walks, terraces and foun- 
tains, and contains many rare works of art. Near the 
Pavilion is a windmill, which forms part of the history 
of Prussia, from the fact that the miller refused to part 
with his possession, when the King desired to enlarge 
his demesnes. His highness was rather pleased with 
this instance of independence in a subject, and compli- 



136 SCLAVONIAN MINSTRELS. 

merited the tenant by remarking that " in Prussia, the 
rights of the humblest should be respected ;" and he 
has since repaired and improved the mill and settled a 
pension on the owner. 

It is but a short drive from this to the former resi- 
dence of Frederick the Great. This palace has little 
to interest, save its associations with his greatness. 
There are still his private rooms, pen, and table upon 
which he wrote. The grounds of Charlottenhof are 
far more pleasing, and its miniature palace was built by 
the present King when Crown Prince, who has plan- 
ned his gardens somewhat in the English style, with an 
excellent imitation of a Pompaeian bath. 

Outside of Potsdam gate, you pass a Russian set- 
tlement, which has been reared by a colony of Rus- 
sians, who were sent by the Czar as a present to the 
King. Their houses are constructed after their own 
peculiar homesteads, and they possessed no outlandish 
peculiarity but that of a fast conversion into Prus- 
sians. 

On my way to the railroad, I met two of these 
Sclavonian minstrels ; the girl was the first beauty I 
had met in travel, and I was so fascinated by the cos- 
tume and minstrelsy that I almost lost my return to 
Berlin by the last train. 

That same evening I had the pleasure of meeting 
a number of my countrymen at the Embassy, where 



AMERICAN EMBASSY. 137 

no American should fail to go, so long as our country 
is so ably represented by Donaldson and Fay. I was 
never more amused than with our minister's descrip- 
tions of German character and manners, which were 
only equalled by his sovereign contempt for their lan- 
guage, or his resolute determination to follow in the 
footsteps of Talleyrand, and never to commit his diplo- 
macy in any other tongue than the vernacular. 

Mr. Donaldson has succeeded in gaining the admi- 
ration and esteem of the Court and of his fellow diplo- 
matists, solely from the fact of his originality of thought 
and expression, and that wild and generous cordiality 
which brooks no ceremony, and puts all etiquette and 
mysticism at defiance. The great minds of Berlin 
admire and wonder at one who puzzles them by a sys- 
tem of metaphysics, even too abstruse for Kant. 

RIDE TOWARDS LEIPSIG. 

Somewhere about the Potsdam gate you get into 
the cars for Leipsig, and when you have weighed your 
baggage and purchased your ticket, you have nothing 
to do but take any seat but that in the first class, for 
none but princes and fools ride in these sumptuous 
places. I found myself in company with a jolly En- 
glish clergyman in the second, and I know not how I 
broke the silence of this man, except through the in- 



138 luther's oak. 

tervention of a certain John Murray, whose red face 
betrayed us both. I found him to be chaplain to the 
King of Hanover, who has a liking for English forms, 
and was going to Dresden to see the town and buy 
some china for Mrs. M. and the babies. 

WITTENBURG. 

That sand plain would have been very sad, but for 
this fortunate acquaintance ; and when we rode by 
Wittenburg, we had a common feeling of sympathy, 
as we looked out on that town, which was ennobled by 
the life of Luther, and saw the pointed spire of the 
Augustine cloister, peeping above the city where he 
lived as a monk, and was buried an apostle. 

It was on these very doors of the Schloss Kirche, 
that he pinned his ninety-five denunciations against 
the Church of Rome, and on the pavement before the 
door, Luther's Oak marks the spot where he burnt the 
Papal bull, and on Schadow's bronze rises his statue 
aloft, with that simple inscription, 

" Ist's Gottes Werk, so werd's bestehen 

Ist's Menschenwerk werd's untergehen." 

- 

As you cross the Molder at Anhalt Dessau, the 
country assumes a more varied aspect, and the hills 
which limit the distant horizon swell in abrupt and pe- 



ANHALT DESSAU. 139 

culiar outlines. Our chaplain became quite conversa- 
tional before we reached Leipsig, where we agreed to 
spend a few hours together in visiting the most curious 
portions of this triple-rivered city. 



SAXONY. 

LEIPSIG. 

The outer city is encircled with many pleasant 
gardens, and in one, the Gerhard's walk, a simple stone 
marks the bank of the Elsler, where noble Poniatowsky 
was drowned ; and near by is the bridge which wit- 
nessed the bloody retreat of the French army under 
Napoleon. We drove to the grand market-place, 
where the allied Kings assembled after the battle, and 
which is one of the most curiously antique squares in 
Europe. Not far from the corner of Stadthaus, you 
descend into the cellar where Goethe tippled at beer, 
and quaffed inspiration for his Faust and Mephisto- 
philes. Leipsig was full with the assembly for its fairs ; 
and it seemed as if the whole tribe of Israel had been 
let loose upon its walks. 

We left Leipsig in company with a Russian family, 
in whose charge was a dark-eyed Polonaise, who con- 
tributed much to the gayety of our ride to Dresden, 



ELBE BRIDGE DRESDEN GALLERY. 141 

and especially whilst we were passing through that 
long tunnel, which has been worked in the solid rock 
by the miners of Freiburg. 



DRESDEN. 

Dresden, the royal residence of the King of Saxo- 
ny, lies in a woody valley over the Elbe, which divides 
the old and new city ; the former of which contains 
all that is remarkable, and is the richest in the con- 
struction of its edifices and collections of art. That 
noble bridge which spans the Elbe, is unsurpassed in 
strength and beauty ; and that view of the distant 
mounds and grotesquely formed rocks of the Saxon 
Switzerland, is only equalled by the prospect which 
you have of the passing life and incidents of the Bruhl 
Garden, whilst you are peacefully enjoying the land- 
scape in undisturbed repose from the terrace. 

The pride and boast of Dresden is its gallery of 
paintings, which ranks first north of Italy. You might 
wander months among its treasures, and not exhaust 
its gems. In the Raphael Stanza is his Madonna di 
San Sisto, which ranks second only after his Transfig- 
uration ; and around it hang Correggio's " Night," 
copies of Giulio Romano, and the Saint Cecilia of 
Carlo Dolci. 

Within the other rooms are Guidos, Domenichi- 



142 GREEN VAULTS ZWINGEN PALACE. 

nos, Titians, Murillos, and abundant examples of 
every school. What a feast is here spread out ! 
What a privilege to catch the inspiration of genius at 
the very feet of the greatest masters ! Here first I 
felt the living power of art, and appreciated its rank 
among its sister beatitudes. The very canvas breathes 
with the virtue of life, and you are overcome by those 
charms of sense which crowd upon the enchanted 
vision, as you are impressed with the feebleness of 
modern painting, contrasted with the works of these 
glorious old masters. 

Besides this, there are numerous other collections 
in the city, which are interesting in the way of virtu 
and curiosity. The Green Vaults are probably the 
richest in jewelry, objects of petit art, costly bijoux, 
and apparel. You cannot but be pleased with the 
gewgaw aspect of these extravagant playthings ; but 
in the vicinity of so fine a gallery, they are too con- 
temptible for admiration, and rather suited for royal 
babies, than for kings. 

One of the prettiest buildings in the city is the 
Zwingen Palace, built by August 1st ; and left in its 
present unfinished state of an ante-court. Within its 
walls are several interesting cabinets of natural history, 
antiquities, bronzes, and medals, and one of the best 
arranged armories in Germany. 

I saw a representation of Oberon in the New 



NEW THEATRE. 143 

Theatre, near the angle of the Elbe bridge, where it 
was produced in a style scarcely inferior to Paris. 
The decorations of the interior are in good taste, and 
the outer walls of the edifice run in galleries and niches, 
which are filled with busts of Schiller and Goethe, 
Moliere, Shakspeare, Euripides, Gluck, Mozart, and 
other worthies, appropriate to its design. Near by 
is a very neat guard-house by Shinkel. In this and 
all other public buildings it is gratifying to observe that 
the talent of the kingdom meets a becoming patronage 
from the sovereign, and that true genius or worth sel- 
dom lives unrequited here. 

Tieck and Retsch are still residents of this charm- 
ing capital, which embraces a large circle of distin- 
guished literary men, and affords to the true lover 
of art, a greater field for study, and the lover of nature 
more inexhaustible stores, than any town in Germany, 
save Vienna. 

SAXON SWITZERLAND. 

Here I parted with my friend the chaplain, and 
early next morning I took the boat on the Elbe, and 
in company with a crowd of Danes, Germans, and 
Russians, started on an excursion to the Saxon Swit- 
zerland. As you approach the highlands, the banks 
increase in boldness and picturesque beauty. 



144 SANDSTONE MOUNDS. 

We landed at " Rathen," and here commenced the 
ascent of the Bastei, a high promontory rising perpen- 
dicularly over the bed of the river, and from which 
you watch its windings through the rich plain 
stretched out beneath you and rolled out like a carpet, 
until lost among the distant headlands and outline of 
Dresden. 

From that giddy height, the brain reels at its supe- 
rior vision over that vast panorama of plain and 
mountain, dissolving in mist of commingled cloud and 
sky, and only regains repose among those singular 
mounds of sandstone which rise abruptly from the 
plain and swell into the form of tall druidical tumuli, 
or the mounds of the lost sepulchred nations of our 
Indians. The undulating moods of landscape are of 
unequalled beauty ; and no scenery can be richer, 
however more sublime the Alps. 

Here we found a guide to lead our way through 
the crazy maze of crag and precipice, and we were in 
full spirit to enjoy our walk, or listen to many a won- 
drous tale about these legendary stones ; and as we 
trudged over hill and dale, keeping time to the wild 
snatches of German songs sung by our leader, we 
were wrought to a high pitch of enthusiasm and dar- 
ing, among the strongholds of ancient marauding 
barons. 

Each one of the sandstone knolls forms a special 



hermit's cave — maiden's leap. 145 

object of visit, and interests from its associations and 
romances. 

High on these rocky pinnacles, freebooters' castles 
were seated, like eagles in their eyries, ready to prey 
on unsuspecting peasants, and to seize their vessels 
laden with the rich products of the fertile Elbe. 

That picturesque bridge, which hangs its slender 
length over the chasms of the Bastei, leads to the Her- 
mit's Cavern, where the old monk held his solitude 
unbroken, whilst he winked at the sins of his lawless 
neighbors, who filled his larder with a share of their 
spoils. 

The Jungfraustein tells of the maiden's fearful leap, 
and speaks of her virtue, who chose death rather than 
violation. There, among those hollow rocks and 
caves, witches and fairies are said still to watch over 
hidden treasure ; and beyond the bloody Thirty Years' 
War was acted in its fury and madness, when these 
mountains were sought to shelter harmless peasants, 
and shield them from oppression and assault. 

We descended from that point overlooking the 
" Devil's Den," and taking the natural pathway of the 
rock, reached the valley below, and continued our jour- 
ney with unabated zeal until we stopped for dinner at 
Hohnstein. 

The best ideas of the peculiar character of these 
Alps, are generally obtained from elevated spots which 



146 KUHSTALL ENDANGERED KING. 

look out over a vast extent of country. After dinner, 
we took carriages and rode to the Prince's Stone, 
where we obtained another of these charming views 
at sunset; after which we continued our ride, and 
stopped not until we came to Schandau on the Elbe. 

The next morning we commenced our walk to the 
Kuhstall, a remarkable opening in the mountain, 
where the suspension of an overhanging rock forms a 
cave, large enough to accommodate a large number of 
cattle ; and from its mouth you obtain a wild prospect 
over the peculiar features of the Greater and Lesser 
Winterburg. Here, during the war, the peasants drove 
their cows, where its ample cavities afforded shelter to 
themselves and stock. 

The road hence leads by a narrow path to the 
Greater Winterburg, an elevated point, which com- 
mands a wide and beautiful landscape. Some three 
hundred years ago, a king in pursuit of a deer, missed 
but a little of being tossed over this precipice on the 
horns of the enraged beast, and was only saved by a 
lucky arrow from his page, which killed the stag. In 
commemoration of this escape, he erected that spa- 
cious pavilion, which is now used by hunting parties 
for their collations and repose. 

The last glorious sight of these Switzerlands is 
that of the Prebischthor, where the stones are so ar- 
ranged as to assume the shape of a natural bridge, and 



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PREBISCHTHOR LOWERWITZ. 147 

from the top of which you command one of the most 
extensive panoramas in these regions. Thence by the 
side of the Kamnitz, you pass out into the narrow val- 
ley of the Bielgrund, and soon leave the mountains in 
the distance. 

The interest of this district is purely picturesque, 
and engaging to the artist and traveller alone. There 
is little to study in manners or customs, for they are 
wild and uninhabited ; and you depend chiefly on your 
guides for information and society. The whole ex- 
cursion is full of objects for admiration and wonder, 
whilst your progress is ever sustained by rare and 
beautiful emotions. The foot forgets its weariness, 
when the fancy roams abroad, and your imagination 
warms ardent, under present excitement of your own 
musings, mingled with stirring tales of border-life and 
warfare. You gain, however, much that is enduring, 
and if invalid, will recover, if nought else, 

" Digestion, which waits on appetite, 
And health on both." 

The beautiful scenery of the Elbe continues with 
increasing interest to Lowerwitz, where you take the 
Schnellpost for Prague. 

7 



BOHEMIA. 



PRAGUE. 



This glorious old capital lies on both banks of the 
Moldau, and impresses you at once as one of the oldest 
cities of Bohemia, if not in Europe. It bears an im- 
posing feature of antiquity, whilst it strikes you as if 
it had stepped out of the romance of the middle ages, 
and spurned any taint from the innovations of the pre- 
sent. It has nothing in common with the mushroom 
origin of a modern city, and you have a feeling of re- 
spect and veneration for its peculiar old palaces, gro- 
tesque towers, ornamental portals, and fantastic carya- 
tides, which bend under the massive weight of gigantic 
structure. That noble bridge which crosses the Mol- 
dau is charged with all the saints in Christendom, and 
no prodigy of human art can rival those huge castles 
which hang toppling over the brink of the Hradschin. 
The old walls of the neighboring citadel thunder with 



AUSTRIAN TROOPS. 14 | 

the fame of the Thirty Years' War and Wallenstein, 
and yon tower, which points aloft over the many tem- 
ples of the faithful, looms fearfully with the world- 
spread influence of Tycho Brahe. What prospect 
can surpass that from the high walls of the palace ter- 
race, whence you look far down over the meandering i 
of the Moldau, as it winds around the outer walls of 
the city, and is lost in the mountains of Bohemia ! 

I rejoined Melcthal at the " Scharzes Ross," who 
had left me at Berlin, and started on before me with a 
friend from Denmark. On, that afternoon, we took our 
seats in the post for Waldmunchen, and woke up in the 
morning at the curious old town of Pilsen. The whole 
road thither was lined with straggling groups of Aus- 
trian soldiery, who were nominally on their way to 
Mayence, on the Rhine ; but at the present state of 
the war in Italy, were doubtless detailed to fill the fron- 
tier posts. Here you may see ' Wallenstein's former 
residence, and many curious traces of its siege during 
" The Thirty Years' War." The country which lies 
between it and Waldmunchen has scarcely any thing 
peculiar, except it be that the farms wear an aspect of 
more careful culture than is usual in the upper regions 
of Bohemia. While we were awaiting dinner at Bis- 
chofteinitz, we had leisure to look at this quaint old 
town, where, as it happened on market day, there was 
a gathering of the peasantry at the fairs. The large 



150 BOHEMIAN PEASANTRY. 

square wore a lively and gay appearance, with its 
booths spread over the various goods exposed for sale, 
and was animated by the presence of as hearty and 
robust a people as could be met in Bohemia. The 
men, who wore broad-brimmed black hats and shorts, 
were not unlike our Shakers in solemnity of mien and 
walk ; and all the women sported head-dresses, some 
of which were highly ornamented ; whilst a shawl or 
white kerchief, neatly pinned under the chin, decked 
the heads of many, and gave to the old a nunnish look 
and to the young an air of coquetry. You could de- 
tect the wife, by a high padded hump, that protruded 
like a wart in front, which they hang out as a sort 
of sign, to prevent mistakes, which might sometimes 
arise among the married and unmarried ladies, who ap- 
peared more like walking bundles of cloth than human 
beings. 

About sunset we passed Klentch, where you com- 
mence the ascent of one of the highest hills of Bohe- 
mia, and from its top we enjoyed a grand view of the 
distant plains, and of the vast forest of Bohmer. 
Waldmunchen is the first town you pass on the con- 
fines of Bavaria. Here we submitted to a change of 
coach and examination of baggage, and then pro- 
ceeded during the night to Ratisbon. 



BAVAEIA. 

RATISBOW. 

We arrived quite early in the morning at this 
" Castra Regina " of the Romans, one of the most 
ancient of German cities, situated near the union of 
the Danube with the Regen, whence its present name 
of Regensburg. Its bridge of 1000 feet, which con- 
nects Hof with the other side of the Danube, is a 
master work of the twelfth century ; and none other 
would have stood the turbid and furious action of that 
rapid and wild river. The narrow and irregular 
streets show its Latin origin, whilst a few of the old- 
est houses still serve as watchtowers in part of the 
present fortifications. 

There is an old tower which strikes you as you 
pass the bridge, from the flaring colors of its huge 
fresco of Goliath's death by David, and about town 
numerous others, equally well painted and curious. 



152 OUTER FRESCOES WALHALLA. 

The very hotel, the " Kreutz," in which we lodged, 
had its historical associations, and was once the resi- 
dence of Charles the Fifth ; the scene of his loves with 
Barbara, and the birth-place of their son, the renowned 
John of Austria. And many of the houses still bear 
the Eagle, the Lion of Saint Mark, and other shields 
which marked the residence of the foreign ambassa- 
dors in the days of its ancient court. There are few 
so striking and beautifully chaste cathedrals as its St. 
Peter's. 

In the vicinity of Donaustauf is the celebrated 
Walhalla, dedicated to the illustrious dead of " Germa- 
ny entire." This Pantheon is situated on an elevated 
mountain, high above the Danube, whence it is con- 
spicuous for many miles. Its model was furnished by 
the Pantheon and other celebrated temples of antiqui- 
ty. Rauch and Schwanthaler have lent their genius 
to the ornamental friezes of the front, and within, ar- 
ranged against and in relief with its beautiful scalliola 
walls, are busts of all the renowned and great, in the 
Imperial Fatherland. 

MUNICH. 

* 

We left Ratisbon the next day at noon, and arrived 

at Munich in the morning. This capital of Bavaria 
lies on the banks of the Iser, in the middle of a sterile 



DOTARD LOVER SPANISH DANSEUSE. 153 

plain, and has the high elevation of 1571 feet above 
the level of the sea. The number of its palaces, col- 
lections of art, galleries of paintings and sculpture, li- 
braries, and gardens, render it one of the most delight- 
ful cities in Europe ; and all owing to the energy, good 
taste, and talent of Ludwig the First, the same old 
man who went crazy after a Spanish danseuse, whom 
he removed from the stage, and surrounded with all 
the honors and immunities of the Countess of Lands- 
feld. He is, nevertheless, a person of no mean pre- 
tensions, and unites in himself the various attributes 
of scholar, painter, poet, and musician. These rare 
virtues have fitted him to raise his capital out of the 
slumbering ashes of decay, and to renew the greatness 
of an empire whose first kings date from the age of 
the Romans. He has done infinitely more good in 
raising Munich to one of the most entertaining cities 
of the Continent, than the mischief wrought in his 
amours with Lola Montes ; aye, through the fascina- 
tion of her dark eyes and winning influence, she has 
caused him to throw off his grovelling superstitions, 
and to correct the hitherto too powerful dominion of 
the Jesuit party in his kingdom. This beautiful siren 
is of Irish and Spanish blood, and in her portraits you 
can trace the influence of the sunny skies and melting 
moods of Andalusia. 

Embellished and adorned with all these improve- 



154 GLASS WARE BRONZE CASTINGS. 

ments, Munich has lost much of its former aspect, so 
that it is only in the old town that you discover its 
curious monuments, in her churches and antique 
towers. The choicest modern buildings are about the 
New Palace, the Odeon Place and Ludwig Strasse, 
whilst by far the most interesting galleries are the 
Glyptoteck (for sculpture) and the Pinakoteck (for 
paintings). 

The new Basilic is one of the richest specimens of 
the Byzantine style in Europe, and is but one of the 
six churches built by Louis the First. The others are 
in the Gothic and Italian order, but are generally too 
gay and gaudy to be thought in good taste. 

The King employs much of his time in devising 
new plans for the adornment of the city, and no less 
than six hundred artists were then collected in the 
town, who were sustained by royal patronage and that 
taste for art, which has been diffused in this capital by 
imitation of the King's example. 

The art of painting on glass has been revived here, 
and almost perfected, so as to equal the antique. Bo- 
hemian glass ware and porcelain are made in better 
taste than in Berlin. 

I was much interested in visiting the great foundr}^, 
and in viewing the process of moulding, preparatory 
to casting their large bronzes. Lying about the ground 
were parts of the unfinished colossal statue of Bavaria, 



UNIVERSAL GERMAN MANNERS. 155 

which is to be fifty-four feet high above the pedestal, 
and will stand before the front of the Ruhmeshalle, 
which is intended as a second Walhalla, to the memory 
of the illustrious dead of Bavaria. 

Munich is especially noted for its beer. In other 
respects Bavaria is like the rest of Germany. The 
language is the same, and (save the peasants) they 
wear the habits of other civilized people. In their 
amusements, they are not so refined as the French, 
and have a grosser sense of pleasures. Give a Ger- 
man boor pipes and plenty of beer, his frau, waltzing, 
and music, and they will remain ever satisfied and 
content to eat krout and paprika the rest of their lives, 
and to sleep in a bed as narrow as a meal box, without 
any other coverlet than an uncertain and fickle feather 
bed, which is very apt to leave you to your shivering 
fancies before morning, unless you should imitate an- 
other of their peculiarities, which is to go to bed with 
your clothes on. 

AUGSBURG. 

In company with a few Americans, we left Munich 
by railroad to visit Augsburg; and from the station, 
walked into town through the lofty gateway of this 
quaint old city. It is certainly one of the most curi- 
ous places in Bavaria. You will surely put up at the 



156 MIDDLE AGE EDIFICES. 

" Drei Mohren" {Three Moors), that grand old tavern, 
which dates back some five hundred years in the same 
family ; and while you are looking through the hall, in 
which Anthony Fugger, the richest burgher of his day, 
feasted Charles the Fifth, do not forget to call for a 
good bottle of his ripe Falernian, which he left behind 
in the cellar, and drink the health of that jolly old 
covy, who was so tickled by a visit from his majesty, 
that he burnt his bonds and cancelled his sovereign's 
obligations over the grate. 

Its very origin and name springs from the Romans 
under Augustus, whose statue stands in the Ludwigs 
Platze. It was a powerful and flourishing town in the 
year 1200, when it attained the height of its glory, as 
the grand central emporium of trade, from the Levant, 
Italy, and the Netherlands. 

It was by commerce that these old burghers be- 
came so rich and powerful, and their cash boxes 
became winning through their daughters, as you learn 
from the marriage of that old brute Ferdinand with 
Phillipena Welser, the most beautiful woman of her 
time. 

Then it has so many old houses and towers which 
are remarkable, and so literally covered with frescoes 
are the walls, that you would infer that they had emp- 
tied their galleries in the streets without. The Dome 
is a rich old specimen of the Gothic style, based on 



TYROLESE SCENERY. 157 

foundation of a Roman Basilica, and struggled through 
its existence from the tenth to the fifteenth century. 

But its Rathhaus, or old City Hall, is one of the 
most noticeable constructions of the kind in Germany, 
in the richest Italian style, and its grand hall is the 
largest room in the world which sustains so heavy a 
medallion-roof ceiling without the additional support 
of pillars. 

The only wide street, the Maximillian, is one of 
the finest in Germany, and has three as graceful foun- 
tains as can be seen north of Italy. With the excep- 
tion of Nuremburg there are few towns so worthy of 
a visit as this ; and no one leaves Augsburg without 
gathering rich material for the subjects of his future 
thoughts and musings. 

OVER THE BORDER TO TYROL. 

I left Munich by poste-wagen, a vehicle somewhat 
resembling a diligence, and found myself in the agree- 
able society of an old French physician and his niece. 
He had served in the campaigns of Italy, and was con- 
versant with all those stirring events which took place 
in the early part of this century, and was then retiring 
from the toils of camp and court, to spend the rest of 
his days among his relatives in Tyrol. The first part 
of this journey furnished little attractive or charming ; 



158 TEGERSEE BATHS OF KREUTH. 

and until the second relay your route runs through a 
monotonous country, with no other feature for relief 
except the traces of an ancient Roman wall. 

Your interest returns on approaching the Bavarian 
Alps on the frontier, whose beauty of outline affords 
an endless succession of pleasing views and delightful 
landscapes. 

We arrived about noon at Tegersee. You can 
scarcely imagine a prettier spot or more charming lake 
scenery. The landscape was glowing with all the 
richness of a golden sunshine ; and the varied tints of 
the autumnal foliage contrasted gloriously with the 
snow-clad hills of Tyrol. The neatly kept cottages of 
the peasants, decking the margin of the lake, added to 
the careful cultivation of their farms, lent a charm to 
the scene, which claims for the Tyrolese a more genial 
sympathy, than the rugged nature of the Swiss. The 
bright vivid waters of these lakes are greatly heighten- 
ed by the shadows of their overhanging barriers, and 
the mountains covered with snow at their summit, are 
richly plumed with dark masses of fir and pines, even 
to the water's edge. 

Finding no conveyance at hand, I walked on to the 
Baths of Kreuth, which are much resorted to by the 
Munichers in summer ; but at this season were quite 
deserted. There is no solitude which affects so 
strangely as that of an abandoned watering-place, and 



ACHERNSEE. 159 

I was there alone to enjoy the full sublimity of that 
glorious scenery. These baths are beautifully situated 
on a narrow plain which is hemmed in by an amphi- 
theatre of elevated mountains. The dreariness of that 
spot and my own loneliness sank upon me with an op- 
pressive weight, and overcame me with increased won- 
der. As I looked on my dwarf attendant, who after- 
wards waited upon me at the inn, it seemed as if nature 
alone reigned there in absolute majesty, and pointed to 
the insignificance of man. 

Beyond this, the character of the scenery is wilder, 
and approaches the Alps in the characteristics of sub- 
limity and grandeur. 

The valleys which lie ensconced among the moun- 
tains of Tyrol are often very picturesque, and that 
bird's-eye view which you catch of their villages on the 
distant plains, as you descend the hill sides into the 
vales, is unique and peculiar to this region. } 

The stell-wagen, a sort of omnibus, is the only ve- 
hicle adapted to these districts ; you must sit outside 
with the conductor to enjoy the country ; and though 
it may be cold, you will find it preferable to the smoke 
of twelve puffing Germans, who always travel with the 
windows closed. 

The Achernsee, the next in order, is truly beautiful, 
and unites the grandeur of the Alps with the gentler 
beauty of lake scenery. It differs from the greater 



160 SCHWARTZ HAL. 

waters of Lucerne and Zurich, in the softer tones of 
lights and shadows, and in the lesser harshness of con- 
trasted effects. There is more repose, and the proper- 
ties of its beauties are better balanced. They differ 
from the Swiss in the abundance of their woodland 
shores, and the excellent state of their banks where the 
land allows of cultivation. The cotters' huts seem 
neater, and their peasants more contented and cheerful. 
Tyrol answers one's expectations ; the Switzerlands do 
not always. Their Alps are often gloomy, sterile, and 
cheerless ; and those Swiss cottages of fancied beauty 
are sometimes worse than hovels. 

This whole route abounds with delightful prospects, 
especially the latter portion of the road on descending 
by the valley of the Inn to Schwartz, the approach to 
which is unrivalled, and may be compared with any 
view in the plain of Chamounix. 

You run on in the same vein of beauty until you 
descend to Hal, the sight of which is highly picturesque, 
from its overhanging hill ; and it is thus that the city 
of Innspruch is presented, as it lies so charmingly within 
the compass of its encircling mountains, when you catch 
your first view of its situation on the Inn, through the 
gap of one of the mountain passes. 



TOMB OF MAXIMILLIAN. 161 



INNSPRUCH. 

There are few such striking positions for a city ; 
and there is a rare beauty in that outstretched land- 
scape, which you command from the old wooden 
bridge which spans the Inn, and gives its name to this 
capital. Its own immediate hills impend so abruptly 
over, that they seem to threaten its safety, and ever 
appear ready to fall and crush its houses ; — they close 
so near, that a writer states, " the wolves prowling in 
their forests look down into the streets of the city." 

Besides its beautiful situation and its edifices, which 
are built in the Italian style, its chief attraction is the 
rich and elaborately wrought monument of the Emperor 
Maximillian in the Franciscan Church. On the top of 
this marble sarcophagus kneels the Emperor, in bronze, 
surrounded by twenty-eight colossal statues of princes 
of the House of Hapsburg or some of the reigning 
monarchs of that epoch ; which are so exquisitely 
drawn, that they are prized as historical portraits of 
each individual, and illustrate the court costumes of 
that period. The side-panels of the tomb are sculp- 
tured in twenty-four beautiful bas-reliefs, depicting 
some of the most remarkable acts of the king, and are 
so highly executed that they furnish studies to the 
artist of the present day. Those which are most per- 



162 THE GOLDEN ROOF. 

feet are the work of Collin, one of the most celebrated 
sculptors of his time. 

Near by, in the old town, is that curious old porch 
"of the golden roof." It was erected, or rather at- 
tached, before the portal of an old house, by one Fred- 
erick, " ycleped" of the empty purse, and was designed 
by him, in the extravagance of his folly, to show his 
townsfolks that he was not so penniless as they 
thought. It is not said that they were more con- 
vinced, after this excess of ornament and over-gilded 
copper work ; for they laughed at his folly while he 
lived, and have handed him down to posterity as lack- 
ing in brains as well as pocket. 

Maria Theresa is also historically connected with 
this town, and one of the gates of the city erected by 
her, as a " triumphal arch," still stands an evidence of 
bad taste and excess of ornament. 

Nearly all these Tyrolese towns are rich in histori- 
cal associations. Here was the residence of Maxi- 
millian the Great, more lately the seat of " Napoleon's 
battles," and still to this day rears a noble race of 
mountaineers, the hardiest and most loyal subjects of 
the Austrian empire. 

From Innspruch, I returned back to Schwartz, the 
residence of the Rainer family, whose reputation as 
singers is well established at home. On my way to 
Salzburg, I was joined by a pleasant family of Rus- 



ZILLERTHAL FUGEN. 163 

sians, and accompanied by one of the party in a short 
excursion to the Zillerthal, one of the most romantic 
villages in Tyrol. 

This charming country is best enjoyed by the pe- 
destrian, as that mode of travel affords abundant leis- 
ure to examine the charms of these Tyrolese peasants, 
whose habits of life are peculiar, and can only be pro- 
perly appreciated by a sojourn among them. This 
people possess that simplicity of character, which is 
only found pure among these remote valleys. It is a 
singular trait of their honesty and fair dealing, that a 
traveller need not ask the price of his lodging or food 
beforehand ; and you can put up at any of their inns, 
in perfect confidence that their charges will be just. 
Among these regions they retain their pretty costumes 
and all the traits of a truly pastoral life. At Fugen 
we called on two of the Rainers, and were entertained 
by a song in true Tyrolean harmony. Nearly all the 
peasants are songsters from their childhood, and their 
singular yoddle is but the prolongation of those re- 
sponses which are echoed back through these valleys 
by shepherds attending their herds on the hills, and 
when driving their flocks of goats to and from pasture, 
at morning and evening. We returned to the post-road 
to meet our friends who had preceded us, during this 
digression, and together we continued on that night as 
far as Rattenburg. 



164 SALZBURG. 

There is little difficulty in obtaining post carriages 
in this part of Austria, as there are regular stell-wagens 
which run from town to town. If your party is large 
they will always grant an extra post. You have to 
put up with some slight inconvenience at their inns, 
and must not be alarmed at the neighing of your ani- 
mals, which are usually lodged under you in the same 
house. 

The next morning we resumed our journey towards 
Salzburg ; and on the route between St. Johann and 
Waldrengen, you travel through a region abounding 
with every species of mineral, and by the side of some 
of the most productive salt mines in Germany. 

The scenery of certain portions of this ride is 
highly picturesque, and occasionally you pass through 
wild and grand mountain defiles, which are as striking- 
ly sublime and attractive as any to be met in the Alps 
or Tyrol. 

SALZBURG. 

In a charming position on the turbid Salz, which 
divides the city in two, and surrounded on three sides 
by mountains, lies the beautiful capital of Salzburg. 

The city proper is snugly lodged in a valley, be- 
tween the Monksberg and the Capuchiner, from whose 
tops you have a glorious view of its surrounding 



FEUDAL CASTLE BERCHTES-GARTEN. 165 

beauties. That stern old castle in the upper town, 
perched on the very summit of an abrupt mountain, 
dominates the town and its extensive environs ; and 
the views you have from the outer galleries of this 
irregular fortress are truly wonderful. That old castle 
in the middle ages, was the seat of a warrior Arch- 
bishop, who belonged, verily, to the Church militant, 
and kept his bands of armed retainers ever ready to 
wage war on infidels, or if necessary, to bring his re- 
bellious parishioners to terms. 

That fine Cathedral, with its facing of marble, was 
built after the model of St. Peter's ; and in the square 
before the Court House, is one of those rare composi- 
tions in the shape of fountains, which would do honor 
to the best of Italy, so exquisite is its design. 

Mozart was born in this town, and his statue stands 
on a place called especially after his name ; whilst not 
far off, in another street, is the mansion of the renowned 
naturalist Paracelsus. 

One of the most agreeable excursions in the vi- 
cinity, is that to Berchtes-garten. Soon after leaving 
town, your road passes under the brow of the Unter- 
burgs, which is famed for its statuary marble, and con- 
tinues on the side of the river Aries to Berchtes-garten, 
the summer residence of the King of Bavaria, which 
is beautifully lodged at the foot of the snow-clad Wattz- 
man. 



166 KOENIG SEA. 

You can scarcely imagine a more charming suc- 
cession of landscapes than those thus presented ; so full 
of pictorial subjects, such outlines of noble mountains, 
so powerful to awake the most fervent and thrilling 
sensations of loveliness and beauty, and so happily ter- 
minated by the bold shore of the " Koenig Sea," the 
most beautiful point in all this rich and glowing 
scenery. Grand are its effects, as it is hemmed in by 
high towering cliffs, which brood over its surface, and 
give to its waves a tone of pleasing melancholy. Its 
waters are of the darkest green, and where the over- 
hanging rocks overshadow its lake, their color is almost 
black. At times, the hills slope down covered with 
foliage of dark pines to its edge, and again at the sud- 
den turns of the lake, bold perpendicular walls rise so 
abruptly from its level as to leave no margin, and 
you seem as if shut in at the bottom of a basaltic 
well. 

The royal hunting lodge lies at the base of the 
frowning Wattzman, and is resorted to for the chamois, 
and for its trout. Some of these fishes are so remarka- 
ble, that their portraits are taken and hung up in frames 
round the walls of this palace. 

Such are the natural beauties of this singular sea, 
and with such rich materials, it would require no 
strain of fancy to transform that blue-eyed girl who 



CD 

C3 



I m 

d > 







KOENIG SEA. 167 

rows you over, into another "Lady of the Lake," or 
to frame a heroine out of the charming little " Kell- 
nerin" who waits on you, on your return to the village 
inn. 



AUSTRIA. 

That afternoon I hired a wagon and left for Ischl 
by way of Hof. Although the first part of this jour- 
ney was very hilly, it gave some rich landscapes over 
the surrounding country. At Hof we stopped just 
long enough to view the village and its pretty position, 
before the distant mountains of Scharfburg. Thence 
your route runs beside Lake Fuschl over to Saint Gil- 
gen, on the shores of the Kammer Sea. Here you 
obtain a grand outline of the extended Salzkammergut 
and its chain of lofty mountains, and your interest in- 
creases until you arrive at Ischl. 

At the brow of the hill which overlooks Saint Wolf- 
gang's Water, there is a glorious panorama over the 
indented needles of these mountain spurs, and a vision 
of surpassing beauty and sublimity is spread out, as if 
" the ocean were in tempest frozen, and chained for 
ever 'mid the glaciers of eternal snows." 

The whole region of the Salzkammergut has many 



BATHS AT ISCHL. 169 

features of resemblance with Switzerland, and there is 
no part of Austria more worthy of a visit, or which 
contains so much that is remarkable, in proportion to 
its size. 

ISCHL. 

Ischl is one of the fashionable bathing-places of 
the Austrian Court, and is rendered one of its most de- 
lightful resorts, from the neighborhood of its mineral 
districts. Its waters are highly impregnated with 
saline properties, and its situation in the very heart of 
the Saltzkammer, affords an endless variety of delight- 
ful and easily accessible excursions. 

We took the stell-wagen early next morning, and 
rode to the "Gmuden Sea." The falling rain pre- 
vented a good view of this charming lake, or of the 
bold form of the Traunstein, a mountain which rises 
3000 feet perpendicularly, about midway across to 
Langbath, and thence by railroad to " Linz." 

Here begins one of the most interesting portions of 
the trip down the Danube. Gn board the steamer I was 
fortunate in meeting an Austrian officer, who was with 
me in my wanderings through the " Tyrol." 

It is not until the Traun empties its clear waters 
in the stormy and troubled Danube, that the scenery 
grows wild and grand. 



170 PASS OF THE STRUBEL. 

Below that stream it has many fine points, and is 
as full of historical association and scenic beauty as 
the Rhine. That fearful Pass of the Strubel, where 
the river hurls its waters over the hidden rocks, adds a 
bolder and more picturesque feature. The banks on 
either side are crowned by a pleasing succession of 
ruined towers, old castles, and fallen cloisters, equalling 
the boasted beauties of its rival. 

It is difficult to compare two rivers so different in 
aspect and diverse in population. These ruins are 
scattered and remote, and its striking views are seldom 
frequent ; but its extent is greater and its wonders are 
spread out in grander proportions. 

It has also its stories of robbers' strongholds and 
castellated lords. On its waters have moved the fleets 
of hostile armies, and hordes of wild barbarians have 
overrun its banks. Its cloisters, and those towers, 
speak too of the trials of the early Christian church, 
or ring with the fame of Roman greatness, and tell of 
the ravages of feudal despotism. Its history is that of 
the Crusades, whilst it is the boasted river of the Aus- 
trian, and washes the shores of Nussdorf, not far from 
their capital, Vienna. 



NUSSDORF LANDING AT NIGHT. 171 



VIENNA. 



Owing to a very thick fog which retarded the pro- 
gress of our steamer, we arrived at Nussdorf quite late 
at night. All was confusion on shore, and the Aus- 
trian hackmen were fully as clamorous and pressing as 
those of our own Gotham. Even my companion, in 
the Austrian service, swore at the stupid noisiness of 
these fellows, and was not a little vexed at the police- 
man, who eyed us so suspiciously as we passed out, 
and viewed our passports under the glare of his lan- 
tern. 

There was a grand splashing and crashing, a hur- 
rah ! and make way ! when four spirited bays bore 
down to the landing, and took away the younger Prince 
Esterhazy. Then all was quiet and subdued. 

We succeeded at length in procuring a hack. So 
soon as my friend's two little girls were stowed away 
in the corner, we were off in the darkness of the night 
through the muddy lanes of Nussdorf, and took our 
passchein from the guard as we passed through the 
" Franzochen Thor" into Vienna; then on again 
through the well-lighted streets of the city by the Jo- 
seph Platz, catching a passing view of its buildings 
and crowds, until we rattled under the low vaults of 
the " Karnther Gate," and out again in the suburbs, to 

the Hotel of Trieste. 
8 



172 INN SUBURBAN GERMAN BED. 

I must say, I felt like a cat in a strange garret, in 
that gloomy tavern, without an acquaintance, and de- 
pendent on the civilities of this noble soldier. As it 
was, I had to make the best of the position, and sat 
quietly down in that miserable little chamber, without 
carpet, with only a crazy washstand and a forlorn 
German bed for relief. The last was indeed a novel- 
ty, and my curiosity led me to examine this article of 
furniture. I looked at it and turned it over ; it seemed 
very like a dough-tray, puffing and swollen with the 
leaven of emptiness, and puzzling my brain to find an 
opening. When I entered, it was hard to feel the 
cover, or to learn the use of a sort of wadded pillow, 
which was floating over my body. There was no 
remedy for this trifle ; the bell was broken, and it was 
now too late to call the Kellner : so I managed a sheet 
with my overcoat; but with all this, they both slipped 
off before morning, whilst I laid shivering, and think- 
ing how any German ever contrived to fancy himself 
warm with such bedding, unless it was by the simple 
force of a strong imagination. I felt sad to think I 
had gone to bed sleepless and supperless, and woke up 
without the faintest idea whether this was Spitzbergen 
or Vienna. Such is one of the accidents of travel. 

The next morning I changed my quarters from the 
suburbs to the city. 

Vienna, the capital of Austria and residence of the 



WALK ROUND THE GLACIS. 173 

Emperor, one of the gayest and most brilliant courts, 
lies on the lower arm of the Danube, on a charmingly 
undulating plain, bounded by low chains of intersect- 
ing hills. The older part, encircled by the walls of its 
fortifications, is set apart from its suburbs, and forms a 
city within a city. These bastions are prettily laid' 
out in promenades and carriage-ways, planted with 
shade-trees, and constitute the fashionable walk of the 
citizens. From each different bastion overlooking the 
glacis, you command striking views of the distant 
mountains, which limit your prospect on all sides. Its 
situation on the last step of that succession of table- 
land, which terminates on the frontier of Lorn bard y, 
renders the climate one of the most equable and 
wholesome in Europe. 

You must get up early in the morning and walk 
upon the ramparts, to view the life of this busy city, 
or the bustling scenes of industry which animate the 
plain, and watch the movements of the gay crowd of 
peasants, ever pouring up the avenues to the different 
outer gates, and continually passing in and out under 
the walls of the inner city. You can walk all round 
the ramparts in about an hour, and within the circuit 
of these four miles of strong works lies the isolated 
Majesty of the Imperial Metropolis. 

Vienna has always struck me with delight in these 
views of its panorama ; and as it rises with its domes 



174 CENTRAL POWER COSTUMES. 

and steeples, high towering houses, pointed roofs and 
palaces, within this girdle of mural defences, and is 
yoked by its wide avenues and gates to its thirty-two 
suburbs, encircled by a belt of gentle undulations, it is 
always pictured forth to my mind like the hub of a 
huge wheel, in which the avenues correspond to the 
spokes, which, while they radiate from a common cen- 
tre, are bound together at the tire and combine in the 
beautiful relation of each part, to give strength and 
beauty to their play around the axle of their central 
attraction. Thus it is, that the capital must be con- 
sidered not only in its bearings to its environs, but in 
its elevation as the high focus of a Court, which at- 
tracts and unites the different interests of Hungary, 
Bohemia, Tyrol, Illyria, and Styria, in this head of the 
Austrian empire. 

Within the walls, you are struck with the fine ar- 
chitectural proportions of its palaces, public buildings, 
churches, and theatres, and also with the cleanliness of 
its streets, markets, and public squares. 

The interior life of the city is no less attractive, 
and its neighborhood to the seaport Trieste, brings 
hither people of all nations ; whilst the picturesque 
costumes of Albanians, Bohemians, Hungarians, Jews, 
Greeks, Turks, Sclavonians, and Tyrolese, give a bril- 
liant aspect and effect to the gay crowds which as- 
semble daily at the cafes, or are grouped together in 
the markets. 



CATHEDRAL. OF ST. STEPHEN. 175 

The chief attractions are united in and about the 
Cathedral of St. Stephen, one of the most wonderful 
monuments in Europe. It is the great wonder of Vi- 
enna, and landmark from every quarter and in every 
view of the city. There can be no more glorious suc- 
cession of graceful effects, than those which fall from 
the uplifted sweep of its elegant spire. The whole 
pyramidical idea or form fills the eye so completely, 
that you are forced by its beauty to stop and admire. 
There is such repose in all its lines, and each part so 
nicely balanced, that one is at fault to find its defects. 
The whole mass swells in harmonious unity ; and from 
the base to its richly carved doors, upwards to the 
fretted tracery of its walls, and above its ornate tower, 
even to the pinnacle of -the spire, there is a winning 
grace and beauty of composition, which charms the 
eye, fills the mind with images of beauty, and binds 
the soul in raptures with the simple majesty of this re- 
ligious Gothic, which is so admirably adapted for 
the temples of our heavenward thoughts and aspira- 
tions. 

Near by, on the opposite corner, is the celebrated 
" Stock am Eisen," an old iron-driven stump, the last 
relic of the far-famed Wiener Forest, which once 
stretched its dark groves even into the middle of the 
present city, and now gives its name to this quarter. 
There is some legend of the devil's helping a black- 



176 THE AM HOF SHOPS SIGNS. 

smith to construct that huge castle, which stands before 
this log, and there is such faith among the Viennese in 
the good graces of his majesty, that every apprentice 
who binds himself out " for the country," drives a nail 
in this wooden block, and as he sends it home with his 
blow, shoulders his pack and passes out of that city, 
with his " devil-may-take-it " air ; so that in a succes- 
sion of centuries, from repeated hammerings, there is 
little or nothing left of what was formerly part of an 
extensive wood. 

In the Am Hof are most of the rich shops of the 
city, and there is a profuse display of pipes, of all sizes 
and varieties, from the plain clay to the richly sculp- 
tured meerschaum of a thousand florins. You will 
observe that most of the shops are painted with de- 
vices and tolerably good portraits of men and women, 
or some appropriate sign corresponding to the stock of 
trade within. Many of these are very artistically done, 
and would not disgrace the walls of some of our ama- 
teur charities. So it happens that a store is oftener 
known by its pendent picture than by its owner's 
name. 

In company with our agreeable consul, Herr 
Schwartz, I went to visit the Augustine Church, 
which contains that beautiful monument erected by 
the Archduke Albert, to the memory of his wife. It 
is one of the happiest productions of Canova, and the 



EMBALMED HEARTS OP THE EMPERORS. 177 

design is after that in the Vatican, the figures only be- 
ing slightly changed to represent the various virtues of 
that charming princess. 

Within this edifice, and in the Chapel of Loretto, 
is the shrine of the Imperial Hearts. You look through 
a small grating in the door, and see those chaste gold 
and silver urns, which contain the embalmed hearts of 
deceased kings. Their imperial bowels rest in the 
Catacombs at Saint Stephen's, and their crumbling 
ashes in the vaults of the Capuchiner. 

On the outside of the Volksgarden and without the 
walls, you descend to see another of Canova's works, 
which is kept under the cover of a temple, erected es- 
pecially for the noble statue of " Theseus destroying 
the Minotaur." It was originally intended by Napo- 
leon to crown the summit of the Simplon on the de- 
scent to Italy, but it has been diverted from its design 
by being pent up and cribbed within the porches of a 
pigeon-coop, to be looked at and gazed upon by the 
unappreciating masses of Vienna. 

Whilst in town, the Court went into mourning for 
the young Duke Charles, who died at scarce nineteen. 
The ceremonies at the palace chapel were imposing, 
and on the evening previous to the entombment, there 
was a dirge sung at the Catapasm, the first form of 
sprinkling the ashes over the body. The next morning 
at ten o'clock, there was a full attendance of the Court, 



178 PORTRAIT OF THE EMPEROR. 

and all the household guards. The procession was 
formed in the interior of the palace, and as it moved 
out, gave us an excellent opportunity of seeing every 
member of the reigning family, the chief ministers of 
the empire, and the whole diplomatic body, as they 
passed in order to the chapel. The Emperor is an in- 
significant and stunted figure of a man, and has an 
imbecile and pusillanimous countenance. There are 
few of his subjects who do not readily confess it, while 
they grieve over their destiny, intrusted to the hands 
of a fool, however wisely managed by a Metternich. 
He was in the habit of playing with this royal puppet, 
and quarrelled with him about the color of the guards, 
the plumes and liveries of his nobles ; and then yielded, 
to gratify the vanity of the sovereign, who would 
laugh and chuckle over the game won, and exclaim, 
" Ah, Metternich ! I have beaten you ! and as you are 
my greatest minister, and chief potentate in the eyes 
of Europe, certes, it follows, I, the Emperor, am great- 
er. Ha ! ha ! ha ! Metternich, my old boy ! Donner 
and weitter ! Gluck ! Trinken wir !" What shall it be ? 
Schnaps, of course ! 

After the ceremony we saw the High Imperial 
Grand Inspector of the fortifications, King's country 
palaces and domains. You must be particular to give 
every man his proper title in Austria, or you will get 
into trouble ; and should always take off your hat in 



OBER DIRECTOR ARMORY. 179 

going into the post, or any other government office, or 
it will be suggested that you are doing irreverence to 
the side-reflected majesty of His Imperial Highness, 
which descendeth from the august person on the 
throne, and reaches to the remotest patronage of this 
royal booby. 

The Ober Director was a fine specimen of the 
hardy race of Austria, and spoke volumes for her cli- 
mate ; he was then ninety years old, and as erect and 
vigorous as many of us at fifty, so that he walked about, 
without help of cane or shoulder-braces. 

Most of the interesting galleries of paintings are 
situated in the different suburbs outside. There is, 
however, an interesting civic armory near the Am 
Hof, which has many curious specimens of ancient 
armor, and only such relics as have distinct and indi- 
vidual value from their local history or associations. 
The skull of Kara-Mustapha was among these, and 
was kept in all its desiccated ghastliness, inclosed in a 
glass case ; a barbarous exhibition, little creditable to 
the civilization of Austria. The grand royal armory 
beyond has many curious relics from the battles which 
have been fought in Germany. There are a few col- 
lections of paintings in the different vorstadts which 
claim notice from the merits of a few gems of art. 
The Belvidere has a number of choice paintings of the 
8 # 



180 PAINTINGS THE VOLKSGARDEN. 

Italian school, and a "Virgin " and "Repose in Egypt," 
by Raphael, of rare beauty. 

There are also some exquisite paintings in the gal- 
leries of the Princes Scharfenburg and Lichtenstein, 
but there are no collections, which united, would equal 
the attractions of the Dresden gallery. 

It is somewhat remarkable, that in the universal 
taste which prevails in painting, there is a great lack 
of statuary. With the exception of one or two statues, 
there are few which are not ridiculed by the inhabitants 
themselves. But there is no want of statuary abortions, 
for they stand on every square, and disfigure many of 
the fountains of the capital. 

It is among the gardens and the caf£s, the dance- 
houses and the music saloons, that one catches most 
pleasing pictures of the gay life and general air of con- 
tentment which characterize the people. 

The Volksgarden is their favorite resort. Here you 
will be cheered by the animated and lively airs of Strauss 
and Son. If you desire something more piquant, there 
are some subterranean cellars where you - may sketch 
a lower grade of society ; and without offence to dig- 
nity, you will view scenes which amuse without dis- 
gusting. So again at Sperls, in St. Anna's quarter, go in 
and take the first frau you meet, and polka and shuffle 
in that gay group, who go reeling with eagerness and 
intense excitement in the whirling mazes of the waltz. 



DANCE HOUSES CAFE GROUPS. 181 

There is no half-way work about these Viennese ; it 
is constant rotation in the offices of the dance. One 
party relieves another ; whilst in different corners of 
that vast apartment, there are gay groups of revellers 
Jreating their partners to " schnaps " and beer, amid 
thick clouds of tobacco smoke and notes of stirring 
music. Here is great fun to be had for a trifle. But 
there is no beauty, nothing of outline to raise any 
flame of ardent devotion. These women may be your 
washerwomen the next morning ; but it is all the same 
in Dutch, and we do these things differently in " Flan- 
ders." 

It is in the Leopoldstadt that you catch the most 
brilliant groups of the great national diversities of 
people and manners. Here are groups of Armenians 
and Turks, long-robed Jews, and those boorish Sclavo- 
nians, who move round in their shaggy wolf-skins, and 
seem as wildly uncouth and barbarous as the Huns, 
their ancestors. Inside the town at the Casino, and the 
fine cuisine of the " Archduke Charles," you can partake 
of the peculiarities of German cooking. It is of a higher 
order than that of Interior Germany, and shows some- 
what an advance in civilization, and the influence of 
court manners on the gout of their kitchens. 

The language of the Court is German, but not 
so purely spoken as by the Hanoverians, and for that 
reason may be more readily understood by those who 



182 TABLE TALK SCHONBRUNN. 

are little familiar with the idiomatic expressions. 
Whilst at the table one day, I was quite struck by the 
license of conversation on the character of the govern- 
ment ; it seemed strange to hear the Emperor publicly 
pronounced an " ass," with a belief that after Metter-% 
nich's decease, the empire would cease to awe, in a 
kingdom where there is a guard placed almost on the 
door of every man's lips, and where strict censorship 
of the " press " precludes every possibility of free dis- 
cussion. The celebrated Prater, and boasted ride of 
the Viennese, has by no means the display of Regent's 
Park. It is situated at some little distance outside the 
town, and on a pleasant afternoon is filled with every 
species of vehicle, from the rough little drosky of a 
quiet German vater, taking his family to air, to the 
brilliant equipages of the nobles, who ride there to 
display the varied colors of their blood and livery. It 
presents a most democratic mixture, and in the variety 
of objects around, you have abundant field for amuse- 
ment and observation. The road-side is laid out in 
natural forest, and numerous deer are kept within and 
left to roam at large over the forests of the Prater. 

You can take the omnibus behind the Casino', out 
to Schonbrunn, the summer palace of the Emperor. 
The house and grounds are well planned, and attached 
is a fine menagerie, in which there is a happy family 
of well-fed beasts, who are kept with great propriety 



STEAMBOAT COMPANIONS. 183 

within the bars of their iron cages. The botanical 
garden is filled with rare plants and rich varieties of 
exotics ; and on an elevated ridge of the palace ground 
is the " Gloriette," from which you obtain one of the 
most pleasing views over the whole extent of Vienna. 
Here properly terminated our visit of this capital. 



THE SAIL DOWN THE DANUBE TO CONSTANTINOPLE. 

We settled our bill at the " Lamm," and tossed a 
florin, to the " boots," as we rattled away in the direc- 
tion of the Prater, taking our last look of Vienna, and 
urging the driver to bring us in the quickest possible 
time to the steamer, which was to start that afternoon, 
at two o'clock, for Stamboul. We went on board the 
" Sophia " at the wharf, near the King's Mill, and in a 
few moments were fairly under full steam, and with 
the favor of a beautiful day, were puffing it down the 
Danube. 

We then took a look at our company. We found 
some of the same people who had come with us from 
Linz to Vienna, and were now again with us on our 
way to Constantinople. We had rather a motley crew 
to begin with. There were Frenchmen, Armenians, 
Hungarians, Russians, Moldavians, Servians, Walla- 
chians, and Americans ; and singular to relate, not a 
single Englishman. And there was M. Rosetti and 



184 PRESBURG. 

his party, handsome Count P., the charming Princess 
C, and her daughter Olga, accompanied by her gov- 
erness, and waited upon by their tall femme de chambre 
Phillipine. 

The shores of the Danube offer very little to inter- 
est you, except near the island of Lobau, which Napo- 
leon besieged before the battle of Wagram, in 1809, 
after he was held in check by the Archduke Charles, 
at the village of Aspern, which you pass on the way. 
To be sure you run by old Castle Petronell, with its 
305 windows, and pretty tough story of the old Count's 
thirty-six sons, who are hung on the wainscot of the 
old manor hall, and pass some few pretty villages dotted 
along the shore ; but there is nothing worth looking at, 
until you come nearer to the city of Presburg, when 
the banks become bolder, and here and there a ruin 
mantles the hills. 



PRESBURG. 

It was sunset when we arrived at Presburg. The 
warm rays of twilight which burnished its hills, and 
painted the landscape in the mellowest tone of a 
Claude, gave to its castles, bridges, and opposite island, 
an effect of bewitching beauty. The old town lies on 
a low spur of the Carpathian mountains, and directly 
in front is that little crowned hillock, where the Kings of 



ISLE OF MOLDAU. 185 

Hungary are sworn, under the sword of the holy- 
Saint Stephen, which they brandish on high with cru- 
ciform flourish, to indicate that by it the country will 
be protected from invaders, at all hazards and at every 
point. 

We crossed over the bridge of boats to the Isle of 
Moldau, the Prater of the Presburghers, better to en- 
joy the beauties of that glorious twilight, and to view 
the last rays of evening, as they stole through the open 
casement of that noble old ruin on Castle Hill oppo- 
site, and then entered the cafe where groups of merry 
citizens were enjoying the music of a fine military 
band, whilst sipping their ices quite cosily at those 
little tables spread under the trees. You may be sure 
we soon joined them, and let our spoons fall as we 
were rapt up in the charms of some bewitching 
face ; and I have no doubt you will think it imperti- 
nent, but we crossed that bridge of boats three times, 
to catch another look at one charming maid, who was 
too excruciatingly pretty. 

We kept up a gay and frolicksome evening long 
after we had jumped into bed at " The Three Trees" 
Gasthaus, for there had so many funny things happened 
on that first day of Dampfschiffing, and we had so 
many questions to ask, and such thoughts to commu- 
nicate, as, " Who was the Princess ? and who her 
maid ?" &c. ; and we slept not at all, until an in- 



186 HUNGARIAN HORSE-DEALER. 

valid old covey rapped on the wall, and lustily hal- 
looed, " Oh mein herr and mein donner," " sei stille, 
mein freund ! Ich bitte ! Ich bitte ! oh ! oh ! oh !" 
which put a stop to our merriment, after one more 
hearty roar ; for there is something strangely funny in 
the misfortunes of others. 

We got up early the next morning, to take schnaps 
with coffee, to keep off the ill effects of the Danube 
fogs, and then went again on board the " Sophia," 
which was to take us that day to Pesth. To-day we 
had an opportunity to select our associates out of the 
mixed company on board, and we became better ac- 
quainted with those who were to accompany us to the 
Mouth. About dinner time, we passed some of the 
most interesting points of the scenery ; and took in an 
old Hungarian merchant and his daughter, whom we 
found a chatty and conversable person, ready to laugh 
with us, and to tell us all that she knew about the 
people and their country. The old man was a horse- 
trader, and in the habit of collecting large droves of 
horses to furnish the markets of Germany, and even 
England. We almost persuaded our young friend to 
join us to the end of our journey, and she would will- 
ingly have done so, if w r e would have thrown the old 
man into the bargain. She had no pruder} 7 about her, 
and no doubt knew that we were strangers, and 
wished to contribute as much as possible to our 



CORTEGE OP NOBLES. 187 

amusement ; as she did by her gayety of manner and 
naivete* of remark. We were in so high glee in such 
company, that we scarcely noticed our approach to 
Pesth, and those noble banks which rise so abruptly as 
almost to obscure the town. We had no sooner 
landed than we took rooms in the fine Hotel of the 
Konigen von England, where we had royal apartments 
overlooking the Danube, and the imposing prospect of 
(Ofen) Buda opposite, joined to the city by a bridge of 
boats. 

Soon after, as we were crossing to Buda, our at- 
tention was arrested by a cortege of Hungarian nobles 
passing over the bridge, crashing and dashing over its 
planks, which yielded and shrieked under the furious 
driving of the Magyars, attended by postillions and 
footmen in long flowing robes, with swords at side and 
pistols in belt, as if they were returning from the sittings 
of their Diet at Ofen. 

PESTH. 

The low situation of Pesth is in striking contrast 
with the wildly picturesque location of the old town of 
Buda. We continued our walk to the height of the 
old ruined fortress, and from the ramparts obtained a 
glorious view over the outstretched landscape far up 
and down the river. 



188 MOHACKS GRISETTE. 

The next morning we took another boat, and 
started with the Frederick. On board we found addi- 
tions to the number of our party. To-day's sail 
offered little to interest us, until we came in sight of 
Graun, with its fine old Episcopal Palace, rearing its 
tall spire over the distant village. We stopped and 
took in a Hungarian wedding party, which had been 
accompanied by all their friends to the boat, and were 
joyous and happy enough, in the expression of their 
wild and boisterous sympathy. We had to part here 
with our charming young lady, and nothing further oc- 
curred that day, until we took in coal at the Mohacks, 
a wild bluff extending over the shore, and inhabited by 
as uncouth a set of savages as could be clad in their 
simple sheepskins, whose aspect was so begrimed 
with coal-black and dirt, that it was scarcely possible 
to recognize their features. This duty performed, we 
sailed a little further down the river, to remain at Ap- 
atin until midnight, discharging freight. 

We had glorious weather on our next day, as we 
passed by the cliffs of Petervardein. Our passengers 
grew more familiar, and our little grisette became a 
general favorite among the more romantic portion of 
our sex. 

I fell into conversation with the governess, and in 
my sympathy for her situation, soon discovered that 
the Princess C. was from Odessa, and after four years' 



SNOK MOONLIGHT STROLL. 189 

separation from her husband, she was returning to join 
him again. Marie, the governess, had joined her as 
tutor to her little Olga, who, by the way, was neither 
inclined nor old enough to be tutored ; and the duties 
of Phillipine seemed to be a very slight care of the 
child, a blind eye to her mistress's defects, and a half 
confidential and deferential position towards the gov- 
erness. In the meanwhile, we were passing the Castle 
of Snok, and it was under the soft light of the autumnal 
moon, that we steered our way to port, at Semblin, 
where we stopped all night. 

SEMBLIN. 

We soon scattered in various groups on shore, and 
sauntered about over the banks, enjoying the glories of 
the moonlit scene. The Princess hung gracefully on 
the arm of the young Count P., and they sought the 
most secluded shades for the free converse of their now 
mutual loves. 

We walked by the side of the grisette, and from 
her learnt that she was travelling alone from Paris, to 
visit a married sister at Odessa. I never could make 
out a perfectly consistent story, but I could not but 
admire her simple frankness and her adventurous dar- 
ing. She evidently was up to all the ways of Parisian 
life, could dance the " Cancan/' and sing snatches of 



190 DEFILE OF KASAN. 

" Les Etudiants," &c, and other popular ditties of the 
Chaumiere ; but she was always proper and free from 
all indecency, and though she slept in the same cabin 
with her compatriots, they were none the wiser. 

I asked her if she were not afraid of insult in her 
lonely wanderings ; and she replied by drawing a little 
poniard from her bosom, and flourishing it with a 
graceful turn, whilst she laughed as she said, " Ah, non ! 
voila mon protecteur!" and then she would turn round 
and rattle away in charming French, and be wild and 
gay as a lark, without harboring thought of evil or ap- 
prehension as to her safety. 

How fortunate we are in such glorious weather ! 
The scenery of this whole day is grand, and we are 
now passing in the neighborhood of Moldavia. There 
was a succession of stirring and charming scenery as 
we approached the " Rapids of the Danube," near Dren- 
kova, where the river runs wildly on, like a mad cata- 
ract, and rushes impetuously over its rocky bed, until it 
is embraced within the arms of lofty encircling hills ; 
where it whirls and rages with foam and eddy, as it 
struggles to escape from the hidden shackles ; and then 
leaps exultingly free, with arrowy swiftness, through 
the gorgeous parapets of Kasan. No sight could be 
more superlatively grand. 

It was sunset, as we ran or rather dashed past 
these rugged palisades, and the whole landscape was 



CLASSIC MEMORIES. 191 

bathed in the richest tones of purple light. Those 
rocks assumed a golden hue. The hills cast their 
deepest shadow on the now lake-like surface of the 
Danube, and no sound broke the solemn silence of that 
solitary scene, save the shrill cry of some startled 
eagle or the sharp crackling of the fisherman's fire on 
shore. The long wild echo of the Austrian coast 
guard, invoked the memory of the past, when Roman 
sentinel walked his rounds on the summit of these 
walls ; whilst their fantastic form and grooved battle- 
ments, lent easy aid for fancy to picture on their fronts 
the glorious feats of a Trajan or a Severus, or the 
emblazoned cross raised aloft in the passage of the 
early crusaders. 

We landed that night at Orsova, a miserable 
town, which would have appeared to great disad- 
vantage at any other time, but for that rich moon 
which glowed beautifully over the low valley in which 
it lies. We walked out to view the village, under its 
glorious light, and mused awhile on the departed 
greatness of the land, when Rome ruled over this 
region, and left behind evidences of her prowess and 
achievements, in those military roads, which can be 
traced out to the present day. 

We returned to our inn, and found it well filled 
with villagers who had been attracted by the fact of 
so large an arrival ; and we went and sat with these 



192 ORSOVA BROKEN MIRROR. 

peasants, while they amused us with their songs and 
mirth over their cups and blinding pipes of tobacco 
smoke. 

We soon found more agreeable diversion in our own 
party ; so withdrawing to a private room, drew away 
the musician, and joined in a most democratic dance, 
in which the Princess, femme de chambre, and grisette 
partook, much to the chagrin of Marie the governess, 
who was a little touched with a fierte Anglaise, and 
did not relish the display of Polka and Cracovienne 
among these boors, and in the wilds of Wallachia. 

ORSOVA. 

At Orsova we remained until morning, under the 
plea of having our passports properly vised. We 
started out of our shabby inn, bearing with us the 
prize of a broken looking-glass, which had seen fit to 
crack under sheer fright at an ugly barbarian, and for 
which we were called upon to pay ; there being no 
stipulation with our landlady for an exhibition of ex- 
traordinary phizes. We felt no uneasiness on the 
score of wantonness, as we threw the old glass on 
deck, for a wandering Jew immediately picked up the 
fragments, and we rested in the satisfaction that there 
would be nothing lost by his speculations on the faces 
of others of his fellow-citizens. 



RAPIDS TURKISH SHORE. 193 

The steamer " Hirsh " took us in about two hours 
to New Orsova, just opposite the Turkish boundary ; 
and we were there exchanged into a smaller boat, to 
enable us to cross the Rapids in safety. The carriages 
and all heavy freight had started in a flat-boat before 
us. On the way to New Orsova we passed several 
miserable Wallachian villages, and at Aegile you get 
your first view of the Turkish shore, as you leave 
the fortress to the right. At this point you catch a 
beautiful view of both shores, as the river widens on 
each side of a deserted island. Before passing the 
Rapids, you are at liberty to choose your pratique on 
either side of the river, and there are two boats, one 
Turkish, the other Austrian ; — whichever one is taken, 
obliges you to keep to that shore, as you would break 
your quarantine by going from one to the other. We 
continued on the Austrian boat, but by some singular 
mishap my trunk went into pratique, and remained so 
until it was taken out below the falls. 

About noon we passed over the " Iron Gates " of 
the Danube at Skela Gladova, so called, from a wide 
stretching barrier of rocks, which at low water im- 
pedes navigation, and renders them impassable at that 
stage. There is no risk whatever at high flood, and 
the scenery in their neighborhood has little to attract, 
after the passage of the defiles of yesterday. We 
sailed smoothly over ; and there was but one lonff 



194 ROMAN BRIDGE WIDDIN. 

swing of our boat, as she came suddenly up to her 
rudder ; then one heavy swell underneath ; and she 
was over and safe, and ourselves landed at Gladova. 

We here took the " Arpad," a very excellent boat, 
with an Italian for our captain, who sang pleasantly 
for us at evening, and treated us well enough by day. 
We fared very so-so, under the treatment of our Mal- 
tese steward, who had a faculty of tongues, as he 
spoke half a dozen, " but no great genius at cooking," 
but he managed to give black coffee at rising, break- 
fast at ten o'clock (d la fourchette), dinner at five, and 
tea at seven. Our sleeping apartments were not so 
good, as all were stowed away feet to feet in a com- 
mon cabin, and we were mischievous enough to spend 
most of our evening in that juvenile pastime of the 
"Battle at Pillows." A little below the Rapids we 
passed two abutments of a Roman bridge, built in the 
reign of Trajan, and at low water these piers can be 
traced to some distance on both sides of the banks. 
Below this, near Sozereng, are the ruins of the Tower 
of Severus. These are only a few of many traces of 
the vastness of the domain of the Empire, and of that 
nation who only conquered barbarians to infuse into 
their character a portion of their own civilization and 
grand improvements. 

We passed Widdin by moonlight, catching a beau- 
tiful view of its twenty-two minarets, gleaming richly 



GUIRGEVO ORIENTAL ASPECT. 195 

under its silvery frosting; at which point Bulgarian 
Turkey begins ; and just below this, at Rahova, we 
laid up for the night. Our fine weather continues : 
and next morning we passed on to Nicopolis and 
Rutzchuh, both small Turkish towns prettily situated 
on the opposite bank. About sunset we landed at 
Guirgevo, where we went ashore, as we were to re- 
main there until midnight. We walked into the town, 
which was about a mile from the river, and were much 
pleased by the stirring life of the village, which seems 
centred around a grand square, in the middle of which 
rose a very singular and high tower, used as a police 
office, and also for a watch station, in case of fire. 
There were a great many Albanians mixed among the 
people, who are much esteemed as postillions and 
guards. The different groups scattered about the 
coffee-houses began to assume somewhat of an East- 
ern character, and the different races of Wallachians, 
Jews, Turks, and Albanians, presented a fine variety 
of physiognomies and costumes. We whiled away 
that evening enjoying the rich landscape from the 
river side, and caught many suggestions from the 
scenes about us, as we sat on the banks by the walls 
of a dilapidated fort, and looked out on the shipping 
below us, the opposite minarets of Rutzchuh, and the 
nearer beauties of the still life ashore ; and it was not 

until after midnight, that we were willing to go into 

9 



196 HOVELS PARTING KISSES. 

the cabin to bed, whilst the moon was so wide awake 
above, and this keeper of secrets was winking at the 
amours of our Venus and Adonis on deck — the Prin- 
cess and Count. 

We sailed away from Silistria and its fine fortress 
in the morning, and late in the afternoon passed some 
singularly bold rocks projecting in very fanciful forms 
over the banks. The Turkish side is usually the more 
varied and picturesque. This day's journey offered 
scarce any object of note ; and we were glad to reach 
Gallatz, to enjoy one night of uninterrupted repose. 



GALLATZ. 

Early next morning we walked up to breakfast in 
the village. I have seldom seen a more miserable col- 
lection of tenements, or a more wretched class of peo- 
ple. Every thing appeared either in ruins or approach- 
ing its dissolution. The little commerce of the place 
seemed entirely usurped by hungry Greeks or Jews. 
Our party stopped at the " Moldavia," the only inn in 
the town, and we went up to take an affectionate adieu. 
We kissed all round, not even stopping at the grisette, 
and on both cheeks. On board, we took our leave of 
the Princess and her suite, and then went into the La- 
zaretto to perform pratique, for there was no getting 



THE EUXINE. 197 

out after that. Here we left pretty nearly all those 
passengers who had started with us from Vienna. 

The next morning we took the " Karloratz," and 
our sail, until noon, was rendered disagreeable by the 
presence of a heavy fog. In the mean time we stopped:) 
at Kuldjuh to land a few passengers ; and here also 
took in a large number of pure Turks, who were 
spread over the deck, and offered pleasing groups as 
they sat scattered about, variously occupied with their 
pipes and coffee. They had all the appearance of a 
migrating party, and carried their household imple- 
ments, caffee-jees, servants, and attendants. Soon 
after, we entered the narrow width of the " Soulinck 
Mouth " of the Danube ; and after running awhile 
through its prairie-like flats, we passed out into the 
Euxine. We were not fairly at sea until evening, and 
then commenced a realization of its description by 
Byron. Its waters run in a short choppy sea, and even 
when it is only a little troubled, you feel most squeam- 
ishly, on the Black Sea. 

Still the Euxine has its beauties, and as you pass 
in sight of the coast, there are some pretty bold banks, 
and occasionally the ruin of an old Byzantian church. 
The shores have a very chalky aspect, and the town 
of Varna, the first Turkish place you enter, is full of 
novelty and charming variety. 

Here terminated this agreeable trip of ten days 



198 BANKS OF THE DANUBE. 

down the Danube. Along its banks lie all the differ- 
ent lands of Servia, Hungary, Wallachia, Moldavia, 
Gallicia, Bulgaria, Russia, and Turkey. The weather 
was unusually favorable during the entire journey, and 
as our passengers were of all nations, all their various 
tongues were spoken on board. 



TURKEY. 



THE EUXINE. 



The morning after we left Varna, we were at- 
tracted by the appearance of a fellow-passenger, who 
seemed from his bearing a man of more than ordinary 
parts and authority. We took the license of travel- 
lers, to address him a few remarks and inquiries about 
the country we were visiting. We saluted him in 
French, as we were quite certain he was not a Turk, 
although he spoke their language fluently; he was 
covered with tarboosh and waited on by a proper Mus- 
sulman. He replied in English, that he was a native 
of Hamburgh, and had been long useful to the admi- 
nistration of the Turkish Empire. Barring this little 
show of vanity, we found him an agreeable and highly 
intelligent gentleman, well conversant with four or five 
languages, and of great benefit to us in pointing out 
the individual features of the land by which we were 



200 LIFE IN THE BALKAN MOUNTAINS. 

then passing. He informed us that he had just return- 
ed from a delightful journey through the heart of Bul- 
garian Turkey, whither he had been attracted in an 
historical search to discover the line of march which 
was taken by Alexander and Darius in their passage 
through this region ; and he was happy in the belief 
that his investigations had not been fruitless. By the 
aid of certain wise Dervishes, he had succeeded in 
collecting positive evidence of the existence of a cer- 
tain Syriac monumental stone, inscribed in the arrow- 
headed Cunic character, which is mentioned in the ac- 
counts left by Darius, as located by him at the fountain 
source of a stream which divided itself in many dif- 
ferent rivulets at that point ; and in the traditions of 
those priests, who are in Turkey the sole depositaries 
of learning, there was mention of the fact of such 
stones having been seen, and attracting particular no- 
tice from their character in a language which had long 
grown obsolete, and was unintelligible to the wisest of 
their scholars. In speaking of the inhabitants of those 
districts which lie in the vicinity of the Balkan Moun- 
tains, he observed, that there alone are the Turks to be 
viewed in their primitive simplicity and vigor ; that 
he had seldom seen so happy and independent a pea- 
santry ; that he found them possessed of not only all 
the comforts, but luxuries of life ; and during his whole 
travels through these unfrequented provinces, he never 



MOUTH OF THE BOSPHORUS. 201 

felt insecure in his person, or lacked in any of the 
courtesies or attentions of civilized life. It must how- 
ever be considered, that he was protected by the august 
and ever-dreaded Firman or Royal Seal ; and to him 
they did not merit the reproach of their world-spread 
title of " barbarians." 

We continued our conversation at varying inter- 
vals, now touching on the construction of the Turkish 
language, which is a derivation from Persian, Turkish, 
and Arabic roots, and again interesting ourselves in a 
recital of those recent discoveries in Persia, which 
have been just published to the world by Mr. Layard, 
and embracing some remarkable traces of the ruins of 
Ancient Nineveh ; when our attention was suddenly 
turned to the bustling and active scene of preparation 
around us, among the scattered groups of Turks, who 
had risen from their attitudes of prayer, the salaam and 
divan ; and whilst some were busy in collecting their 
household wares and furniture, others were folding 
afresh their clean white turbans, trimming their pipes, 
or packing up their narguilees, previous to our arrival 
at the mouth of the Bosphorus. 

THE BOSPHORUS. 

The opening scene of the Bosphorus is grand. 
You enter these straits where the protruding shores of 



202 CASTLES EUROPE AND ASIA. 

two opposite continents look down upon the dark and 
abrupt mass of the rocks " Simpligades," which lull 
the rough and stormy waves of the Euxine into calm 
repose. That bold coast, bristling with Saracenic 
towers and mounted with heavy cannon, is soon suc- 
ceeded by the overhanging heights of Belgrade, which 
are crowned by the ruins of an ancient aqueduct, and 
followed by gentler undulating hills, which inclose the 
dark waters of that channel within the charming bay 
of Buyukadere. 

Your sail from this point, and even for twenty 
miles, embraces a succession of charming landscapes 
and views of unrivalled beauty ; and as you pass 
through the narrowing straits at the outlet of the bay, 
you glance back on the lofty summits of the Asiatic 
shore, and over the terraced slopes of those sunny 
banks, glowing in all the richness of oriental foliage, 
and basking in all the fervor of bright sunshine and 
reflected sea. 

Wildly runs its current within the now approach- 
ing headlands of two opposite continents, as its waters 
chafe the base of the castle of Europe ; whilst dark 
cypresses and umbrella pines mournfully look down 
over the ruins of this dismantled fortress ; and, across 
the stream, rise the bolder outlines of Asia's strong- 
hold, which guards the soft vales of the valley Goksu, 
and those beautiful sweet waters of the sunny south. 



CAiaUES DWELLINGS. 203 

You do not fail to observe the rich contrast of these 
woody heights, as they deck both margins with varied 
beauty. On one side thick masses of northern forest 
cluster around the villas w T hich dot the hillside, and 
hanging gardens fall from parapet and terrace clothing 
these declivities in all varieties of shade and verdure. 
On the other shore, the softer skies of the orient re- 
lieve luxuriant pastures of a lovelier green, and the gay 
foliage of tropical fruit and flower ; whilst the air is 
redolent with sweet fragrance of jessamine and orange, 
wafted by Zephyr through groves of rhododendrons 
and acacias. 

There is a magical effect in the increasing and 
moving loveliness of these scenes, and the landscape 
warms with interest as you are borne onward in your 
approach to the city. All is now life and animation. 
Caiques of every size, holding in their prows bouquets 
of fresh flowers, propitiatory offerings to the waves, 
and brilliant with the gaudy colors of the richly cos- 
tumed passengers, move upon the surface of those 
waters ; and long flocks of wild fowl hurry by, skim- 
ming over the dancing billows, in perpetual motion, 
doomed, in the legends of the Turks, " to hover, like 
evil spirits, without rest for ever." The shores are 
now lined with the dwellings of Armenian and Turk, 
Frank and Jew, each distinguished by their peculiar 

colors of red, yellow, and white : beyond are the pal 
9 # 



204 HARBOR OF STAMBOUL. 

aces of the resident Ministers and Grandees ; all follow- 
ing to fill up that harmonious whole, which enchants 
the sight, until the Aladdin Palace of the Sultan fronts 
upon the bay, whence you are allured by a succession 
of beautiful views to the very entrance of the Porte. 

Truly, there is no such approach to any other city 
in the world ; such a mosaic of rich palaces and land- 
scape, charming scenery and lovely skies ! Such a 
combination of effects, such rich contrasts and variety 
of moving pictures ! 

This mingling of beauties, this extravagance in the 
lavished gifts of nature, forms but a part of the won- 
ders of the land, and unites with the Bosphorus, its 
castles and towers, bays and inlets, hills and forests, 
villas and villages, sunny prospects and delightful vales, 
mosques and minarets, summer palaces and kiosks, 
fountains and baths, to frame in unison a whole, which 
with the suburbs and environs, coast scenery and seas, 
claims for Stamboul pre-eminently above all of earth's 
cities, its reputation and its name of the Sublime 
Porte. 



STAMBOUL. 

In the year 1263 of the Hegira, we weighed anchor 
and dropped astern at the end of the Golden Horn, 
directly under Seraglio Point. We then looked 



SCENE ON THE WHARF. 205 

around on our position and found ourselves somewhat 
in advance of Scutari in Asia, not far from Leander's 
Tower, but much nearer to Tophane than to the tow- 
er of Galata, or the hilly heights of Pera. 

Before us rose the city of Constantinople, with its 
numerous mosques and minarets crowning the sum- 
mits of her seven hills, and brooding over the crescent 
of the Golden Horn, stretched its length over to the 
Sea of Marmora, and within, as far up as the cypress 
groves of Eyoub. 

We waited awhile, watching the crowd of caiques 
which darted from the shore at the first news of our 
arrival, and w T ere amused at the vociferous cries and 
clamorous chattering of the boatmen, as they wrangled 
and tossed about their little barks : so eager were they 
to be freighted with our persons and our charges. 

In the midst of two or three fights, and with no little 
risk of being pitched overboard, in the crazy balancing 
of these precarious little crafts, we secured a passage, 
and were pulled ashore to a landing at Tophane. 

Here we were met by a crowd of hungry Greeks 
and a motley crew of Turkish boys, pressing upon us 
the qualities of their lank steeds on which they offered 
to convey us up to Pera. We got rid of their importu- 
nities by taking two, and then started off and away, 
with a miserably little raggoul hanging on to our tails 
and running behind, whipping and hallooing through the 



206 UP THE HILL TO PERA. 

street, to the astonishment of those solemn Turks, who 
were working in their low booths by the roadside, and 
to the utter dismay of some straggling females, bound 
up in yashmac and ferigee, waddling through the mud 
of the narrow streets ; who, showing but a bundle of 
green cloth, wide leggins, and white head-dress, seemed 
to all the world more like aldermanic turtles walking 
upright, than what we had been wont to look upon as 
"the gentler and loving sex." 

Dash and splash! up we ride through thick and 
thin, and round the gay stucco of the fountain of To- 
phane, borne upward and onward through the gates 
and over the walls into the limits of Pera, where a poor 
Turkish guard was walking his round, with fez and 
musket ; he looked quite disconsolate at the loss of his 
flowing robes in the protruding fulness of his over- 
stuffed European inexpressibles. Then, onward we 
hurried, in breathless haste, to be lodged on the out- 
skirts of the Frank's quarter. 

In a few moments our porters brought in our trunks, 
and we found ourselves in the snug apartments of 
Madame Guissepina Vitelli, in the upper side of Pera. 
It took us a short time to recover our wonted calm- 
ness and ease ; and it was only at late breakfast that 
our party assembled to discuss the many curious ob- 
jects we had then seen, even in our short ride from 
the wharf to the hotel. 



TURKISH MILITARY. 207 



PERA. 



It is a peculiar feature in the Frank's quarter, that 
almost all your views embrace the outline of a grave- 
yard. The "petit champs des morts" at Pera, stretches 
around the brow of the hill, and, in every direction, you 
look out on the spindle cone of dark cypresses mourn- 
fully aslant over turbaned tombstones or the new-made 
grave. Pera is properly the Franks' city, and here 
only Europeans are permitted to reside. At table we 
found our fellow-passenger of the Danube, and now 
learned that it was no less a personage than General 
Joachimo Jerkins, who had been instrumental in cloth- 
ing the Turkish army in European garments, and in 
making them look so sheepish under the change, that 
there appeared but one more step to their total degra- 
dation, and that was, to make them eunuchs to guard 
the Seraglio. 

Our conversation naturally turned on our utter ig- 
norance of Turkey, Turkish, or the Turks, and we were 
fit subjects for all those instructive stories, to which we 
listened from our Hamburgh effendi. 

As it rained all day we assembled within doors, 
but took immediately to our ottomans and pipes ; and 
whilst we sat cross-legged, listened to many a cock- 
and-bull story of the old days of the Janissaries and 



208 WALK INTO THE CITY. 

their bloody deeds, when they were wont to amuse 
themselves by throwing people into the fire, and nailing 
poor bakers by their ears to their shop doors, for deal- 
ing out light bread to their customers. To add to our 
horror, the Cholera was then in progress, and a few 
cases had been announced by the regular board at the 
Porte. 

Thus the day passed off between pipes and tobacco, 
as our party of strangers made eager inquiries about 
the health office and the quarantine, the modes of es- 
cape and the fires ; and thus, in the midst of varied ap- 
prehensions, fear of death by disease, by fire or water, 
we closed our first day among the Franks at Pera, 
when each stole away to bed by the light of the moon, 
and to slumbers, only to be disturbed by the most dread- 
ful shrieking of caterwauling cats, barking dogs, or the 
coarse gruff calls of that wandering old watchman 
who goes poking his way through the mud, by the 
light of his glimmering lantern, as he rolls his rattle 
and cries out, "All's well," or " Yangan var ! Yangan 
var!" 

CITY OF THE SULTAN. 

The next morning all were eager to enter that city, 
where no European, is allowed to reside. We soon 
made up a party, and in the rain walked over the hill 



PROSPECTS OVER SEA AND LAND. 209 

of Pera, through its avenues of tombstones, until we 
entered the gates of the old walls of Galata ; and then 
turning round the corner of the guard-house, were led 
by its old graybeard porter to the tower of the Geno- 
vese. By the proper application of backsheesh slipped 
into the hands of the guard, we were permitted to 
mount to the Fire Gallery to obtain a sight of the dis- 
tant city, stretched out along the shores of the " Horn." 
The view from the outer balcony has no superior ; you 
embrace the whole extent of the landscape, and look 
out at all points of the compass, and the scope reaches 
far up the Bosphorus, giving a finer interior prospect 
over the surrounding hills of the suburbs, and extend- 
ing beyond the city, to the Sea of Marmora and the 
groups of the Princess's Islands. The first sight of 
the metropolis and its outlines is truly glorious, and as 
the eye sweeps along over the thousand minarets and 
mosques glowing in all the dazzling brightness of sun- 
light, the mind is enchanted by the beauty of the scene. 
We descended, and walked down the hill through the 
old Genovese part of Galata, now occupied by the 
Frank merchants, and as the business quarter of the 
Jews, Armenians, and Christians. On Fair days the 
streets are filled with gay groups of linen-drapers and 
traders, and goods are exposed for sale in the open air. 
In going down the narrow stone steps of this quarter, 
you are seized by the most importunate race of beg- 



210 CROWDS SCENES AT THE BRIDGE. 

gars who sit by the wayside asking alms. From the 
time you enter this rocky lane, until you escape into 
the main avenue, your ears are dinned with back- 
sheesh, " Allah ! Allah !" " Howardge !" " Ingleez ! 
Grush! Moneta!" from all kinds of voices, and at 
every hour of the day. They are professional beggars, 
and a jolly and gay life they lead. 

As we reached the foot of the hill, the streets 
which ran by the river side became narrower and 
more filthy ; and under the projecting eaves of the low 
cupboard-looking shops, are the various trades of this 
section. You emerge from this hole of wretchedness 
into the wider passage of the bridge, and here at the 
pier heads you are sure to see those gorgeous groups 
which can alone be had from the oriental crowd, and, 
only, at the outlet of the bridge over to the city. There 
are broad-tail Armenians and pointed-capped Persians, 
pilgrims from Mecca. Greeks, Jews, Franks, and sol- 
diers, mixed up with women, Arabs, shipping, and pre- 
senting such an odd variety of personages and objects 
as fail not to divert a stranger, or confuse you in the 
labyrinths of this thronged gangway. 

I have lingered for hours on that bridge, to watch 
the movement of those animated masses, and to gather 
some insight into the manners of this novel species ; 
and here have enjoyed scenes of never failing beauty, 
in the stirring motion of the waters, and those striking 



THE BAZAARS. 211 

pictures of oriental life which are continually afforded 
within the limits of the Crescent Horn, and charm the 
sight, by that wondrous variety of views which is here 
gathered of the city, its suburbs, and opposite Scutari 
in Asia, 



BAZAARS. 

We first entered the bazaar for drugs, which is by 
far the most attractive and best constructed. Those 
old venders in turbaned head-dress are venerable mo- 
numents of their success in life ; and as they sit among 
the brilliant colors of their various drugs, you can 
hardly distinguish them from jalap and senna — so solemn 
and knowing seem they, and so reverential, with their 
superb beards and full flowing robes. 

The architectural merits of this bazaar claim notice, 
and the various groupings of its interior present the 
most perfect and characteristic subjects for the sketch- 
book. 

From this we went onward to the main bazaars. 
These extend over a large surface of the lower city, 
and from one long wide avenue branch out in different 
arms, which are inclosed and lighted from above, and 
give to them the aspect of a series of inclosed streets. 
Each division is usually devoted to one trade, and they 
are used by the Armenians and Turks in common, 



212 BARGAINING SIGHT-SEEING. 

Their sides furnish a rich display of wares and mate* 
rials, whilst the brilliant array of various goods scat- 
tered about in such gay profusion, pleases the eye by 
its novelty, and from those effective combinations of 
color, which are so extremely attractive. We com- 
menced at once to bargain for slippers and pipes, and 
by dint of signs, gesticulations, and backsheesh, suc- 
ceeded in getting the first, at fifteen, and the others, at 
forty or fifty piastres each. Having run all through 
the different departments, now looking into the shoe, 
again at the leather, the saddler's, the linendraper's, 
the jeweller's, the confectioner's, and the arms-bazaar, 
which is truly only an old junk-shop, we passed out 
and returned to the bridge, peeping quietly over the 
shoulders of the assembled ladies, and striving to catch 
a look under their yashmacs, to learn whether there 
was any such thing as beauty in Turkey. 

Now once more to the bridge, passing along those 
narrow and muddy lanes, lined with bazaars and filled 
with the animated populace of this densely crowded 
city, and watch the eternal movements of these strange 
people, hurrying to and fro, and gathered in groups 
about the Customs and the Toll-house ; whilst we bar- 
gain in Spanish lingo, Italian, or signs, with these poly- 
glot Jews, who are ever ready to hire horse to " In- 
gleez," and trot him round to the sights of the town. 
A little boy runs behind you, and with a thousand 



THE SULTAN GOING TO MOSQUE. 213 

grimaces tries to make himself intelligent, with his 
knowing looks and funny attitudes, as he lashes your 
pony and urges him on by the shore of the Horn and 
the shipping, to the " Gate " of the Palace — over the 
point and across the Atmeidan — out by the Mosque, 
through its courtyard and gateway, to the most remote 
districts of the Capital. 

You can get one of the horses for ten piastres a 
day, but a few more will give great joy to that nimble 
raggoul, who follows afoot and guides without murmur 
or groan. 

THE MOSQUE. 

It is Friday, and the Mussulman's Festival, a day 
of general rejoicing, of gala, and prayer. Where goes 
the Sultan to-day, at the hour of mosque ? The can- 
nons roar and belch out fire and smoke from the old 
Point of the Seraglio. The wild voice of the crier 
shrieks from every Muezzim's tower, to call the faith- 
ful to devotion and the Prophet. Ten thousand bloody 
flags flaunt with the wind from the mast-heads of the 
shipping. The day is as lovely as the first dawn of 
spring, and the Bosphorus is filled with caiques in rea- 
diness to start in the train of the Sultan. Again these 
cannons boom over the water. The guard mounts at 
the palace, and the drum beats as the royal barges slip 



214 ROYAL PROCESSION. 

out of the gate of the palace, and the Sultan is wafted 
in those beautiful barques to the Mosquet at Kullu 
Bagdashi. 

These tournament yachts move like swans over 
the clear blue waters of the placid Bosphorus. Their 
prows are decked with the eagles' beaks, and as they 
move under the full stroke of their twenty-eight oars- 
men, they seem to fly like blooded coursers, springing 
under spur and mettle. Under a rich canopy of silks 
sits the Sultan, on his divans of velvet — a young and 
emaciated, senseless, voluptuary ; and as the light waves 
ripple under the galley's speed, he listens to the chant 
of the billows, and is lulled in soft repose and forget- 
fulness by the well-feathered stroke of his Arnaout 
boatmen, whose full-sped oars part the sea like cime- 
tars keen, as they glimmer in the sun like falchions of 
gold " dripping pearls from their quivering edges." 

The procession stops at the shore of Asia, and the 
Monarch moves to the worship of Allah, attended by 
his Court and his household troops. In a half-hour the 
service is over, and he goes to visit the Cavalry Bar- 
racks ; whilst within, his troops are running about in 
confusion and disorder, unable to know at which door 
his Majesty will reappear. At last he comes down by 
the grand stairs to the shore, and returning the saluta- 
tions of his army — a stifled, stuffed, croaking huzza! 
— he is led again to his barges ; and they move off in 
the direction of Begliebed. 



TURKISH PIC-NICS. 215 



GOKSU. 

Our caique moved upward to visit the vale of 
Goksu and its beautiful fountain of the sweet waters 
of Asia. This rich plain stretches its length before 
the white walls of the castle beyond, and with the 
valley fills up the space to the base of the surrounding 
hills. It is one of the choicest resorts of the pic-nic 
parties of the city, and in fine weather you will see 
here many of the Hareem of the Sultan and Grandees 
of the Palace. On such occasions, in the absence of 
jealous lords, the Frank may catch a smile from those 
dark-eyed and curtained beauties ; and they are not 
scrupulous to lower their barrier yashmacs, to disclose 
a fair cheek and a full rosy lip to the eye of the admir- 
ing Christian dogs. 

There were many of these fair ones scattered in 
easy postures over the ground, sipping sherbets and 
sweetmeats on the raised wall of the pretty foun- 
tain ; and near by, their Arabas were at rest, whilst 
their eunuchs were watching the oxen, which were 
grazing under the trees in the distance. There are 
few spots on the shore of Asia which surpass this in 
beauty of scenery ; and from this midway point of the 
Bosphorus you have a fine view of the shipping, the 
opposite villas of the European coast, the distant city, 



216 MUSIC AT NOONTIDE. 

and the rural beauty of the interior. Afar off in the 
valley, troups of soldiers were engaged in foot-races 
and games of ball ; and seated under the groves along 
the banks of the stream " Goksu," were other pictu- 
resque groups of parties of Armenians and Greeks. 
We drank of the water of the fountain, the purest in 
the East, which supplies the goblets of the Sultan, 
when it is taken to the city, sealed up, signed, and 
bottled by "special authority," lest subtle poison might 
be put in the royal cup. 

On our return we passed under the gates of the 
new palace, almost near enough to see the movements 
of the inmates within ; and as we glided by that of the 
Sultan's sister, we heard notes of stirring music, steal- 
ing through the latticed windows of the harem at the 
sleepy hour of noon, when the dancing girls are brought 
in, and the sounds of lutes and the tambourines vie in 
varying discord, to lull the repose of the languishing 
Sultanas. 



SIGHTS. 

The next day we ascended again the old Genoese 
Tower of Galata, to watch the superb effect of the 
glorious sunshine on the city and the Horn, and to 
enjoy those never-failing prospects which grow more 
attractive by familiarity. Thence we learned to call 



THE SEVEN TOWERS. 217 

the mosques by names, to fix their epochs in the his- 
toric drama of that city, and to trace the rise, pro- 
gress, and decline of an Empire, that had ruled from 
those seven hills, which seemed typical of the almost 
bodily transfer of " Dead Rome " from the banks of the 
Tiber, to the more romantic scenes of the Golden 
Horn and Bosphorus ; and we looked round and back 
to the days of Constantine, and traced his history in 
the Mosque of Sophia, and continued down, following 
the outlines of these hills, through the sequence of its 
story, from Saint Sophia to the lesser mosques of Ma- 
homed, Selim, and Achmet. Thence we descended, 
crossed over the bridge to the opposite shore, where 
we took horses, and scouted all over the interior, while 
we traced its monuments in the Hippodrome and Obe- 
lisks, and the overhanging walls on the Sea of Mar- 
mora ; getting glimpses of rich interiors and charming 
fountains, we hurried on through the narrow and 
muddy streets, until nearly lost in a maze of lanes and 
alleys. We found our way out to the old Amphitheatre 
and Circus, and escaped out of all Turkdom and the 
Turks, to the glorious old ruins of Yeni Kuoli — the 
stupendous relics of the " Seven Towers " — a prison, a 
dungeon, and a wall — and still the noblest remains of 
the glorious works of antiquity, after the Pyramids and 
Balbec. 

We rode outside the city, on the open plain which 



218 VIEW OVER MARMORA. 

skirts the Sea of Marmora. It was the hour of sunset 
when we reached the end of this wall, projecting into 
the water, and washed by the ripples of the dimpled 
sea. There was a witchery in those ruins which 
chained the eye to a fixed aspect of devotion, and led 
back the memory to the glories of the unconquered 
Romans. These triple-moated strongholds may last 
yet for ages to come, and survive the ruins of this 
second Byzantium. These crumbling buttresses were 
a fit frame for the evening scene before us, and the 
heavy outworks and ponderous masses contrasted rich- 
ly with the light domes of the distant city, swelling in 
aerial perspective like hemispheres over the bosom of 
the Bosphorus. Whilst the last Muezzim sang from 
his lonely tower, my attention was called to a solitary 
Turk, who dropped his work, climbed on the top of a 
fallen block, and bending in the attitude of prayer, to 
the East, poured forth his offering to Allah and the 
Prophet. He himself seemed a block of that ruined 
temple, Man, and as he knelt on stone, was no unfit 
illustration of a faith based on dead works, which 
trusteth for salvation on the boundless sea of hope. 

EYOUB EXCURSIONS. 

The next morning, we hired caiques and rowed to 
the village of Eyoub, situated at the head of the Horn, 



SACRED MOSaUE PURE OSMANLEES. 219 

which here terminated in a small stream of clear wa- 
ter, flowing from its fountain near the Sultan's Kiosk. 
On the way you pass the arsenal near the foot of the 
Death Quay, and watch the receding shores of the 
hills of Tophane and Pera, studded with cypress and 
the white tombstones of these immense grave-yards. 
You now pass the assembled fleet at the Admiralty, 
and the mansion of the Captain Pacha; and at the 
low wharf by the walls of the opposite shore, you land 
near the fountain of the Mosque of Eyoub. 

By a narrow footway, flagged with marble tiles, 
you walk through an avenue of inclosed cemeteries, 
and are struck with the porcelain likeness of these 
ornamental tombs, glowing in fresh colors through the 
golden network of thin wire. At the angles of the 
path, you look through the rich " Tarkish " of that em- 
bossed mausoleum, to get a view of those rich cano- 
pies over the coffins within, covered with rich shawls 
and velvets, and inclosed by a slight railing of rosewood, 
inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Beyond, you enter the 
little gate which shuts on the court of the mosque of 
this suburb. Here all the sultans are sworn in under 
the sword of the Prophet, and this spot is most sacred 
in the memory of the faithful, who regard it with reli- 
gious zeal. These villagers have all the native simpli- 
city and bigotry of the pure Mohammedan, and they 
looked as if they had never been tainted by contact 

10 



220 VALE OF THE SWEET WATERS. 

with Frank or Dog. We could not enter within the 
sacred precincts of the temple, and were even repulsed 
when we attempted by a black-eyed Houri, and growled 
at by a venerable old Simon-pure Turk, whom we 
could not but admire for the richness of his costume 
and long flowing beard. Climbing up through a thick 
array of turbaned tombstones, we made our way to the 
top of the hill, and from its summit looked down upon 
the cubed roofs of the village beneath us, and over 
the Horn, through the straits of these narrowing moun- 
tains, as it stretches its waters by the sides of the city, 
and along the shores of Tophan6, to join the Bos- 
phorus before Scutari in Asia. This view is one of 
the most charming in the environs. 

We descended to the water, and moved onward to 
ascend to the head of the Bay, and entered within the 
narrow banks of the river, which can almost be 
reached with both oars ; and, us we rounded the 
curves of this wandering stream, we passed groups of 
pleasure parties seated on carpets spread under the 
shade-trees, enjoying the wild notes of discordant mu- 
sic, and smoking their chibouques with elegant repose. 
Then passing beside the low windows of the Harem, 
we entered the basin, and moored our boat close by 
the walls of the Summer Kiosk. On the green lawn, 
which spreads through the vale of this Tempe, were 
numerous other parties of citizens, walking about the 



PARTY OF LION-SEEKERS. 221 

gardens, away from their Arabas and steeds, which were 
at rest under the trees, whilst the grounds were covered 
with children and slaves. This pretty vale was much 
frequented by the favorites of the Sultan, and not far 
off on the hills opposite, are the targets which bear the 
trophies of the royal bow, and show the prodigious 
feats of his strength, by those stadia marked along the 
course of his driven arrows. 

On the way back, the music of the Admiralty band 
stole over the water across our prow ; it was a dis- 
cordant jumble of incoherent sounds, with little har- 
mony or beauty of note, but evidently imitative of 
those wild and sudden starts of feeling which can 
alone arouse the senseless voluptuary from his stupor, 
or startle him into animation by fitful and transient 

THE FIRMAN. 

Attended in due form of Turkish law, by the august 
person of our Turkoman and his advocate, our purse- 
^ bearer, our party of ten set out to be put through the 
" sights of Stamboul." 

We were duly headed by this sedate and solemn 
looking Mussulman — Cawass of our Embassy — who 
was armed cap-a-pie with two heavily mounted pistols 
in belt, his short cimetar slung on one side, and whip 
in hand ; and as he trudged heavily down the rough 



222 FOUNTAIN AND MOSQUE OF TOPHANE. 

cobble-stone steps of Pera, we felt as if all our dignity 
was centred in this Firman ; and when we saw the 
Osmanlees retire before the searching sweep of His 
cracking lash, we gloried in this delegation of a frac- 
tional part of the powers of the Sultan, and our bosoms 
heaved with the emotions of a triumph, and a chuckle 
over the sublimities of the Porte Sublime. 

Thus provided, we followed in the train of our 
charmed camel leader, and were led into the precincts 
of Tophane, to visit our first " lion," the Mosque near 
the edge of the Bosphorus. 

No one passes this section of the Porte without 
stopping to admire the graceful proportions and Ara- 
besque scrollery of the beautiful fountain of Tophane. 
In the East, the waters of life always flow by the side 
of the temple, and this first gift of heaven is always 
open for the use of the faithful among that people, who 
rank ablutions next to godliness. 

Before entering the Mosque, boots and over- shoes 
must be left on the outer sill ; and as you enter under 
the uplifted curtain of the leather roll, you must put on 
your slippers or walk in stocking feet. 

The interior of this edifice is simply beautiful, and 
is remarkable for the support of its light dome, which 
is without pillars. Around the sides of the walls, and 
above the line of the windows, an Arabic poem was 
richly depicted on an elevated scroll, and in the four 



INTERIOR OF MOSQUE. 223 

niches of the corners, the names of Mahomet, Osman, 
and their immediate successors, were emblazoned in 
heavy gilt letters and mouldings. Towards the east, 
and elevated about midway from the ceiling, stands 
the inclosed passage to the pulpit, which is ascended 
by a narrow stairway where the Koran is expounded : 
here the reader's desk rears its pointed cone much like 
a huge extinguisher, and seems ready to doff two large 
candles which stand beneath at the north of the priest's 
position. 

Just opposite the reader's stand, and facing the 
Bosphorus, are inclosed apartments for the women, 
and to the east of their gallery runs the rich railing 
around the elevated throne of the Sultan. The inte- 
rior of these mosques is simple, and without ornament 
or niches. They all have a spacious court and foun- 
tain, and under the porches of the quadrangle are the 
cloisters, which are usually occupied by their schools 
and Imaums. 

Hence we passed to the shore and took caiques for 
the visit to the Porte. These beautiful boats are mere 
shells of highly polished walnut, often tastefully carved 
and ornamented with swans' and eagles' heads at the 
prows. They are as fickle as canoes, and you must 
sit perfectly still in the bottom of the boat, in order to 
keep them steady. 

The passage of the Horn from Tophane" to the 



224 GOLDEN HORN OLD SERAGLIO. 

Porte presents one of the finest and most striking views 
of the city and the Bosphorus. Those profound wa- 
ters float the largest vessels. You pass under the 
walls of houses, among the shipping, surrounded by 
ten thousand caiques, now looking up to the heights 
of Galata, and then at the opposite tower of Stamboul. 
Your view embraces the whole of the Horn, as well as 
the opposite shores of Scutari ; then, across the stream, 
to where the graceful pyramidical terraces of Seraglio 
Point swell with such rich masses from the water, and 
lift their form from its shores in a succession of most 
pleasing groups of houses and palaces, whilst kiosk 
and white walls intermingled with the foliage of plan- 
tain and cypresses contrast grandly with the variously 
colored roofs and verandahs, the tall tapering spires of 
minarets, and the rich effects of this mingling of earth, 
sky, and water. We landed at the foot of the Porte 
Divan, and thence walked under the outer gate, within 
the walls of the old Seraglio. This palace is no longer 
inhabited by the Sultan, for after the destruction of the 
Janissaries on the Atmeidan, Mahmoud had not heart 
to linger around scenes so pregnant with blood and 
treachery. Those now deserted halls are very pret- 
tily planned, and furnished in excellent taste, without 
excess of ornament. The rooms are light and airy, 
and those apartments destined for the Harem are 
hung in blue satin damask, with their ceilings painted 



FOUNTAINS AND COURTS. 225 

in arabesque and gold,, with slight borders of stucco. 
Their distribution is in a common hall, around which 
are four alcoves somewhat elevated on the floor, fur- 
nished with rich divans, and giving fine views out on 
the inner courts and gardens, or glimpses over the 
Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmora. The position of 
the old Seraglio on this tongue of land, running out 
into both seas, affords a combination of views and a 
beauty of situation which is unequalled in Europe ; 
whilst its hanging garden, fountains, and richly orna- 
mented gates, which open on the sea, — its cypresses, 
plantains, and kiosks, interior views and porches, 
with grand masses of foliage, produce a harmony of 
effect and landscape, which has no parallel in the 
world. 

"Within the circuit of its walls, the treasury and 
stables, throne-room and library, present beautiful and 
varied specimens of the pure old Moorish style, and 
the pillars of the inner court embrace every variety of 
marble which can be found in the desecrated temples 
of Greece, which have contributed to its construc- 
tion. 

Poor, emaciated eunuchs were set as guards before 
the porches of these different edifices ; they seemed 
wretched abortions of humanity, and as if every spark 
of vitality had fled from their marred bodies. Since 
Mohammed, that service has been performed by black 



226 CHURCH OF ST. IRENE. 

slaves, whose negative color precludes one half of the 
bestiality and vacuity of expression. 

By this time we arrived under the spacious porches 
of the magnificent gate, which, from the highly orna- 
mented and costly nature of its materials, has given to 
the Palace the title of the " Sublime Porte/' By this 
gateway the Sultan always proceeds, and on all state 
occasions there was no other access to the Court. 
Through these portals have passed the decapitated 
heads of Janissaries, and even Sultans. Beyond this, 
outside the inner walls, is the Arsenal, which is now 
used only as a collection of antique arms and costumes, 
and is hallowed to Christian sight from its having been 
originally the old Church of St. Irene. 

Under the outer porch, in the lower story of this 
building, the Sultan has commenced a marshalling of 
some of the antiquarian objects of his kingdom, and 
has already formed a collection which is creditable to 
his taste and that of his people, who have hitherto 
stripped all the monuments of Greece, and buried thou- 
sands of columns within the patchwork of the Seraglio 
sea-wall. 

In the outer court, the only one in which the pub- 
lic are admitted, are groups of noble trees, one of 
which is the patriarch of a forest, and dates back to the 
primitive ages of the city. This oak is so large that 
three of us could scarcely reach round its trunk, and 



MOSQUE OF SAINT SOPHIA. 227 

by its side, towards the city, is the mint, an unpretend- 
ing building, without even a feature of Turkish archi- 
tecture to recommend its notice. 

We then passed out of the Porte from the divan of 
the ministers, and crossed over, through narrow streets 
and bazaars, to the gates of the outer court of Saint 
Sophia. The mosque was then in a state of repair ; 
we passed by the fountain, and entered under its vast 
covered peristyle by the northern door, to view the 
grand proportions of its noble interior, still bearing the 
external impress of its original form under Constan- 
tine. Those vast columns in the transept were taken 
from the temple of Ephesus, and its ceilings covered 
with huge letters in arabesque, each one of which is 
taller than a man. As you stand within the precincts 
of the Holy East, you look up and admire the lightness 
of its suspended dome, and see the half obliterated 
forms of those cherubim mosaics which were part of 
the original temple ; for these figures had been white- 
washed to cover up these images, which are not sanc- 
tioned by the Mussulman ; as they believe that such 
symbols have a tendency to idolatry, and that they 
must find souls for every depiction of animated objects. 

This vast mound is more of a mansion for Pande- 
monium than fit tabernacle for the Invisible God, and 
its triple gallery rises up to the very margin of the 
dome, from the uppermost of which your view down 

10* 



228 MOSQUE OF ACHMET INCIDENT. 

is infinitely superb. On the square of the Atmedian 
near by, we entered the superb Mosque of Achmet, 
with its six minarets towering high above its gilded 
dome, and relieved by stone galleries outside for the 
Muezzim criers. The interior plan is much the same 
as in all. The dome is supported by four immense pi- 
lasters, and around the door the galleries are sustained 
by beautiful columns taken from ancient temples. On 
long wires stretched from pillar to pillar, small colored 
lamps, ostrich eggs, and bunches of feathers are hung, 
and the north galleries are filled by the treasure-boxes 
of the faithful, deposited here during their pilgrimage 
to Mecca. Whilst within, we were amused by an in- 
cident which tested the bigotry of these holy Imaums. 
On entering, we had some of us forgotten to exchange 
our boots for yellow slippers, and were treading upon 
the rich carpets on the floor, quite rapt in observa- 
tion on objects around us, when one of the party 
was seized by a zealous neophyte, eager to show his 
horror to the priest, and his abhorrence of the taint 
of a Christian dog's soles. On a sudden he seized the 
unsuspecting spectator, and laying strong hold of one 
foot, commenced turning him around the heel of the 
other, quite to the diversion of the priest and the as- 
sembled worshippers, until the timely interference of 
our Cawass and a sight of the Firman relieved the 
culprit from embarrassment, and forced us to retire 



HIPPODROME MOSaUE OF BAJAZET. 229 

through the hanging portals to the outer gate. It was 
a quiet joke, no doubt, to the faithful Osmanlees, but 
with the sufferer, led to quite an inclination to slap the 
bigot, but for the apprehension of a row and a violation 
of the courtesies and presence of even a Mahommedan 
temple. 

The hollow square of the Atmeidan still shows 
traces of the ancient Hippodrome. Those columns 
by the obelisk beyond mark the old goal of the chariot 
races in the old Roman Circus. Under Justinian it 
witnessed the scene of the green and blue factions, and 
under Mahommed it witnessed that horrid massacre of 
the Janissaries, who here fell victims to a stern neces- 
sity — a sacrifice of a terrible hydra which was threat- 
ening the foundation of the Sultan's throne. 

Beyond this, at the corner of a narrow street pass- 
ing towards the Mosque of Bajazet, we entered the 
superb Mausoleum of Mahommed, who was buried 
near the mosque he had erected. These beautiful 
tombs are in the most perfect and rich style of Moor- 
ish architecture, and within are the sarcophagi of the 
Sultan and his family. The courts outside are usually 
filled with ever-blooming flowers, decking the margin 
of a lovely fountain, and each Kiosk becomes almost a 
minor temple to a deified monarch. 

Bajazet has no peculiarity but its vast court, which 
is full of pigeons, birds highly esteemed by true Mus- 



230 MOSaUE OF SOLEIMANYE. 

sulmen, from the aid which was afforded by one, in the 
Hegira of the Prophet. They are here entertained at 
the public expense, where they have a holy horror in 
causing the wanton death of these birds, and never eat 
them unless their heads are cut off and they are bled 
by suspension, when shot by the hands of some luckless 
Frank. 

Here, we were surprised to find a few women in 
the interior, as they are excluded from a share of the 
worship, and so slightly treated in the Koran, as to lead 
to some doubt in Turkey, whether the sex are possessed 
of souls. 

It was the hour of prayer, also, when we entered, 
and the assembly of the faithful added a new feature 
to its gloomy and lofty interior. The attitude of the 
Osmanlee at prayer is one of great and exclusive ab- 
straction : he seems at that hour fully bent upon his 
duty and the offices of his religion. No other object 
attracts him from that purpose, and as he bends in his 
genuflections, thrice he throws his body to the ground, 
then rising at full height, he lifts his arm in prayer, 
and is wrapped in contemplation, completely absorbed 
and abstracted from all earthly considerations, and lost 
in his vows to the Allah ! il Abdallah, and to " Great 
Mahomet, his Prophet." 

Soleimanye, the last mosque we visited, is the most 
striking, after Saint Sophia, and in its riches and en- 



POWER OF THE FIRMAN. 231 

dowments is surpassed by no other in " Stamboul." 
Its dome is almost as grand as that of Constantine, and 
lacks only its associations to render it equally pleasing 
and attractive. 

In visiting all these mosques, we could not but re- 
mark the small number of worshippers at prayer. It 
must however be recollected, that their devotions are 
performed five times each day, and that no true Ma- 
hommedan omits to pray at those stated hours, when 
the Muezzim tells their appointed time from his tower 
in the sky ; and wherever the true and faithful are, in 
shop or house, tented field or at sea, they kneel at their 
devotions, and no occupation or trade prevents obedi- 
ence to the call. 

Thus ended our visit to the Seraglio and Mosque 
by Firman, a power which carries with it the full ex- 
ercise of curiosity and observation, and without which 
it is impossible to see any thing of the interior of 
either, without the certainty of being insulted by some 
fierce and solicitous Turk, or laughed at and shouted 
at by those niggardly raggouls, w 7 ho fling the dog in 
your teeth, and are ready to sound the alarm of hounds, 
if you should turn to punish them for their impudence, 
or check them in their gibes and gestures, which claim 
protection under the bigotry of their sect, and their 
insuperable hatred of the Christian, the infidel, and the 
Giaour. 



232 DOMESTIC LIFE OF VITELLI. 



GOSSIP. 



Heartily tired of that monodrame graveyard, with 
its mournful aspect, and the dull phase of the burnt 
district of that " Grand Rue de Pera," we changed our 
quarters and took rooms atVitelli's, near the Mosque 
of the Dancing Dervishes, whence we could now com- 
mand views of the distant city and a glimpse of the 
Horn. With our change we obtained a clever host in 
Tonqo, a Greekish Italiano, a fellow of wondrous fer- 
tility, and of tongue well suited to his racy delivery of 
these tropical imageries. 

PoorVitelli had separated with one wife, whom he 
had found a little too much of a maitresse femme, and 
was now living with another, who was by choice his 
femme maitresse. His good easy nature was chafed 
in the yoke of regular wedlock, and he saw fit to take 
French leave of his former virago, and was contented 
to pass the rest of his days " en entente cordiale" with 
a dark-eyed Grecian. You must know that we do 
things differently in Turkey, and love in the East is 
rather more plastic than shawls and piastres. Guis- 
sepe Tonqo entertained in the East, to the full satis- 
faction, our party, two Englishmen, and the Sultan's 
Geologist ; and in such company we felt still nearer to 
the Sublime Porte, and more open to the general in- 
fluences of Turkdom and the Ottoman Empire. 



IRISH ABSENTEE IN TRAVEL. 233 

Our English friend, H , was one of those staid 

and statistical Johnnies, who take facts by measure- 
ment and landscapes by points. He had been travel- 
ling at leisure on three hundred pounds a year for the 
last seven years, and whilst in Stamboul was engaged 
in copying out bad plans from an old book of the last 
century, and buying up back numbers of Galignani. 
By such little devices and funny anachronisms, he 
managed to keep up a pleasant fiction of travel, and 
indulged in the beauties of constructive absenteeism. 

In excursions about town we took H as our 

foot-rule, and pocketed all measurements and statistics 
from his memorandum, whilst we threw his old jokes 
and Percy's Anecdotes to the Turks and the dogs. 

Our geologist, from his long residence in Turkey, 
and appointment at the Porte, gave us reliable infor- 
mation on the true state of Turkey and character of 

the Ottoman, whilst our companion, L , who had 

sailed out in an English tub, had left home hardly with 
permission of his mamma, and was only known to us 
by his flirting and ogling with a pretty Jewess, who 
lived opposite our window. 

The Doctor's room, on Tonqo's third floor, an- 
swered for our divan, and we assembled there every 
evening to learn the news of the day, and to gather 
fresh hints about the movements of Turkey. 

In the absence of incident, we always sent down 



234 CHIT-CHAT AND GOSSIP. 

for the equivocal Tonqo, whose fertile imagination and 
glib Grecian tongue always came to his aid, to recall 
the glorious days of the Janissaries, the intrigues of 
the Courts, his life in the Plague, and his own great- 
ness under the empire of Mahommed, the dead and 
favorite Sultan. When this source failed, we called 
in the aid of the Ottoman newspaper, edited by Mr. 

C , and it never was at fault, to bring up all arrears 

of absurdity, or, in the melodramatic constructions of 
these our oriental nights at Stamboul. We were always 
lolling on the divan, where Chibouques, and Duchan 
Hooker, and Timbactou were ever ready to be puffed^ 
and to pour out rich volumes of smoke, thick enough 
to obscure our countenances, and prevent too close an 
examination as to the texture and truthfulness of those 
stories, which were certainly woven out of the whole 
cloth. 



SORTIES. 

Under the escort of Georgio, our busy-faced facto- 
tum, we sallied out the next morning to visit the 
" Horse Bazaars." Passing through the long line of 
cypresses which stand like funereal plumes over the 
sepulchres of the Moslems, we stopped awhile to ob- 
serve how many of the turbaned tombstones had been 
singled out and decapitated ; whilst they recalled to 



ROMAN AaUEDUCT. 235 

our minds the fearful vengeance of Sultan Mahmoud, 
who followed the onslaught of the Atmeidan by a mu- 
tilation of all the cemeteries of the Janissaries. Soon 
after, as we were about to enter our caiques at the 
" Death Quay," we halted again to witness two singu- 
larly severe fights on the wharf ; for we were surprised 
to view such fierce demonstration of passion in the 
faces of these Osmanlees, which had hitherto been cha- 
racterized by traits of the most benign complacency, 
and expression of imperturbable repose. 

We crossed above the free bridge and landed at the 
Mosque of the Fanar, in the Greek quarter; then as- 
cending over the brow of the hill, lounged awhile 
under the arches of the ancient Roman Aqueduct, 
which is still used to convey water into the city. En- 
tering at the side of a broken gate, we left the street 
and groped our way up a blind and narrow stoneway 
to the top, and whilst we walked along the line of its 
broken walls, catching pleasing views over the town, 
and overlooking the gardens and interior courts of the 
houses beneath us, we listened to the gurgling sound 
of its waters flowing under our feet, which issued forth 
like plaintive voices of the past or sighs from the hol- 
low tombs of centuries, mourning the fate of that Em- 
pire which had risen and fallen in its course, and 
assimilating the history of its transfer, prosperity, and 
decline, to the strange mutations of human life. 



236 TURK AT A BARGAIN. 

Thence we descended and walked to the noble Mosque 
of Mohammed, to take a new view of the " Saddlers' 
Bazaars/' and that quarter where the horse-market is 
held. Whilst there we sought to purchase a gun-case 
from one of these Turkish cobblers, and were quite 
diverted at the obstinate refusal of the animal to re- 
ceive any orders from a Christian. We tried to com- 
municate our wishes by signs, and drew a plan of a 
cover, hoping to assist the merchant by demonstration ; 
but at the very first intimation of instructions from a 
Frank, the old Turk threw down the plan, and sheathed 
his caseknife ; then looking at us with a solemn, mys- 
terious, fanatical stare, signified as much as to say, 
"you may get it elsewhere; I am sure I could not 
please you at any rate ;" whilst he mumbled this pas- 
sage from the Alcoran : " Ye faithful ! do not tie sau- 
sages to dogs' tails." Not far from this quarter, the 
debris of an old mosque obstruct the roadside. The 
Mahommedans leave these wrecks to crumble into 
decay, and have scruples in hastening the destruction 
of a temple already predestinated by the order of na- 
ture. Although they have desecrated all the Grecian 
temples, and have lined the Seraglio sea walls with 
the columns of Salamis, they never destroy their own 
edifices or remove them out of sight, but suffer their 
ruins to moulder into dissolution. Then after walking 
about this new quarter of the city, we passed within 



GORGEOUS SUNSET. 237 

to the terrace before the Mosque of Soleimanye, " The 
Magnificent," and whilst I was occupied in sketching 
its exterior for my companion's statistics, we were sur- 
rounded by groups of idlers and Osmanlees, who sus- 
piciously eyed our draft, as if we were plotting the 
destruction of the temple. Some even, more gener- 
ous, and gifted with a slight taste for Art, seemed 
strangely pleased with the drawing, and gave us a pat- 
ronizing shrug, with a " Yok !" or " Mashallah !" We 
felt somewhat honored by these tokens of sympathy, 
for they relieved us from any apprehensions we might 
have had, of being pitched over the precipice for our 
sacrilege. From that spot we turned to enjoy the glo- 
rious effect of a rainbow over the scene spread before 
us, whilst the soft tones of evening stole over the wa- 
ters of the Bosphorus before the outlet of the Golden 
Horn ; and as the setting sun glowed upon the lone 
Tower of Galata, burnishing the mosques and mina- 
rets with gold, the whole air was bathed in the richest 
hues of purple light ; and transparent clouds, tinged 
with roseate dye, hung their rich drapery over that 
landscape which was so beautifully framed under the 
span of the suspended arch. 

We stood long gazing at the beautiful effects of 
light upon the distant shore of Asia, whilst we watched 
the overshadowing of day, under the gorgeous colors 
of this magic twilight, and lingered still until the last 



238 Mussulman's sabbath. 

ray of sunlight, glancing from gilded mast to minaret, 
pencilled with its faint quivering touch the crescent 
vane of the Seraskier Tower, as it fled from earth to 
regions of more celestial glory, to leave the sea re- 
splendent with the mirrored beauty of the stars. 

Again it is Friday, and the day opens with occa- 
sional showers and fitful streaks of sunlight. Again, 
the Muezzims sound the hour of prayer from their thou- 
sand galleries above tower and dome, and the faithful 
move to the service of the mosque, as he cries, " Allah, 
il Allah ! Abdillah ! To prayer ! to prayer ! prayer is 
better than sleep ! Come all ye faithful to prayer ! 
Allah il Allah ! Great is the Prophet ! Allah il Allah ! 
Allah !" The cannons from Seraglio Point belch out 
their globes of smoke, and the hills resound with re- 
joicing echoes. Yonder across the Bosphorus move 
the graceful barges of the Sultan — now they float by 
us, in our caique, to the mouth of the Horn. To-day 
he goes to Achmet, and returns to visit the launches 
from the arsenal, within the Admiralty district. 

We afterwards mounted to the terrace of the Mos- 
veli Dervishes, to watch the gay procession of barge 
and caique as it passed within the Horn ; and thence 
again to the bridge, whilst the Court moves over the 
inner straits, and crowds of eager and devoted follow- 
ers swell the pageant in its onward, course. One never 
tires when viewing the varied charms of this poetic 



LAUNCH OF SHIPS BUYAKADERE. 239 

land. Ten thousand bloody flags stream from the 
crowded mast-heads, displaying the gilded crescent on 
their ruddy fields ; and as the Sultan reviews the labors 
of the Pacha, under the cover of his sheltering tent, 
two noble ships of the line are launched from the yard 
of the Capudan, and sink from their ways to the sea, 
floating like swans on that glorious lake. Once more 
the welkin rings with the shout of soldiery, beat of 
drums, and booming guns ; then all is over. 

Again the Sultan moves on his return to the palace 
at Beglerbeg, and the bridge is cleared by the crackling 
whip of the Bostanjee, who keeps it free, whilst his 
barges pass beneath to float once more in the deep and 
broader waters of the Bosphorus. We followed that 
afternoon to imbibe fresh joys from the eternal beau- 
ties of these noble straits, and landed not, until within 
the arms of the Bay of Buyakadere. In getting out 
of the boat, we were nearly plunged into the full enjoy- 
ment of its waters, and would have felt the full power 
of its charms, but for the strong aiding hands of our 
skilful boatmen. We lost, however, the perception of 
the beautiful shores, as the rain forced us to abandon 
our ride to Belgrade, and that night was passed on 
land at the " Navy," a miserable inn kept by a clever 
Greek ; but we slept soundly, lulled to sleep by the 
sound of the clamoring waves and the beating of a 
violent rain, pattering on the roof and tapping against 
our windows. 



240 BAIRAAM FEAST. 

At early dawn the next morning, we returned and 
sailed down the Bosphorus. The rosy morn gave new 
beauties to these charming shores, and added fresh 
laurels to their merited praises. On board we had 
parties of Armenian merchants, returning to their bu- 
siness in the city, and groups of Greeks, Albanian wo- 
men, and Turks. A saintly priest was seated at the 
end of the boat, dressed in full canonicals for the ser- 
vice of the mosque ; and it amused us not a little to 
watch his popularity-seeking manners, and his open, 
Pharisaical display of alms to a miserable boy, who 
waited upon him and kissed the fingers of his extended 
hand. So we floated, by the Sultan's Palaces and 
Kiosks, Armenian villages and Greek mansions, on to 
the charming Point of Candili, and across from Scu- 
tari round the shore of Tophane* to the bridge, and 
a landing, just in time to escape the coming shower, 
and reached our lodgings for an early breakfast at 
Tonqo's. 

BAIRAAM. 

What meaneth this gathering of sheep within the 
precincts of the Court of Valide, the assembly of mer- 
chants, and spread booths under the shadow of the tem- 
ple ? The morrow is the Feast of the Bairaam, and 
the Sultan sacrifices the lamb at the great festival of 



ILLUMINATION OF THE HORN. 241 

the Mussulman year, which follows that of the Rha- 
madan and the ceremony of the Circumcision. Al 
sunset the cannons announce the approach of this 
annual Coorban Bairaam ; the harbor is brilliantly 
illuminated, and those pendent lamps hung from the 
Muezzim's gallery, encircling the domes of the mosque 
and studding the masts of the shipping from Eyoub to 
the Divan, shine like clusters of brilliant constellations 
along the starry firmament of this city of the sun. 
We ascended the tower of the Genovese to catch the 
full effect of this bright effulgence, and with the aid of 
our Cawass, succeeded in passing the guards and get- 
ting within the gates, which are closed upon the 
Frank's quarter after nightfall. 

What a brilliant spectacle bursts upon the sight 
from the outer gallery of this sky tower ! Ten thou- 
sand stars seemed to have dropped from heaven upon 
the bosom of enchanted earth; and as these lamps 
glimmered through the hazy dusk upon the phosphoric 
billows of the gilded Horn, they twinkled like golden 
spangles upon the mantle of the Queen of Night. It 
was a scene not unlike when the innumerable hosts of 
rebel angels, driven from out the pure ethereal realms 
of heaven, lay stretched for many an acre round upon 
the burning surface of the lurid lake. High aloft, the 
young moon peered in matchless loveliness through 
light encircling belts of fleecy clouds, and east her soft 



242 BAIRAAM PROCESSION. 

veil over the " bridal of the earth and sky," as when 
the Prophet fled from his persecuting foes ; and in 
gratitude for her cheerful beams, stamped her image 
upon the shields and pennons of the faithful, and by 
that signal crescent led on to the conquest of the 
world, and the establishment of a religion, whose pros- 
elytes were to be converts to the sword, and baptized 
in an ocean of blood. 

Those tall, tapering towers and minarets, gleaming 
with golden light, stalk forth like spectres in the 
watches of the night, and the whole aspect of that 
scene shared more of the fabled visions of enchant- 
ment, than of the assembled glories of mere earthly 
and oriental splendor. 

That morning came, and the sun arose, suffusing 
the shores with rosy light. At early day, the bridge 
was crowded with masses of people, moving in the 
direction of the Porte, and over to the Seraglio of the 
Sublime Gate. We arrived before others, and yet 
found a vast multitude assembled in the squares, bor- 
dering on the walls of " Saint Sophia." There were 
Armenians, dressed in full-flowing robes, petticoated 
Greeks, tall-capped Jewish women, Turks and soldiers, 
and the guards, all grouped in the most easy attitudes 
and postures. It was a beautiful sight to watch the 
opening of this gala festival. The gilded and painted 
Arabas, drawn aside from their buffaloes and Arabian 



PAGEANT. 243 

steeds, are filled with gay groups of females, and the 
brilliant attire of the full costumed Turks. The beau- 
tiful fountain of the Seraglio, with its pagoda roofs and 
rich golden inscriptions on azure ground, the splendid 
portals of the Gate, the turreted walls of the Castle, 
and the majestic form of Saint Sophia, form the beau- 
tiful foreground of this grand spectacle, while the Sea 
of Marmora, with its distant shores and mountains, 
close up the hollow of the square. Here were all 
waiting, and engaged in various observations and sur- 
mises, until the hour of march was announced by the 
appointed heralds. The procession moved through 
the long line of soldiers ranged along the course. Ten 
spirited Arabians, led by gayly-clad grooms, preceded ; 
they are the steeds of Mahomet, pedigree of the Pro- 
phet's race, beautifully caparisoned and without riders, 
and their rich saddles of red morocco are embroidered 
in golden letters. Then came Pachas, Muftis, Effendis, 
and high dignitaries of the Empire, each attended by 
their suites and slaves, and mounted on fiery coursers, 
with highly decked saddle-cloths ; following in order 
of their tails or standards, whilst they are severally dis- 
tinguished by their decorations and number of re- 
tainers. Lastly came the oldest and most important 
minister, the Grand Vizier, moving in front of the 
body-guards, who were richly clad in scarlet jackets, 
and in their red fezes wore aloft high, tall plumes of the 

11 



244 THE SULTAN HIS ARRAY. 

peacock-feather, whilst they carried their maces in 
their right hand. Then succeeded the imperial fan- 
bearers, to keep off all noxious insects, and to prevent 
the flies from annoying the serene countenance of the 
Prince ; these passed in files of six, and in the middle, 
clad with his cloak of royal purple, and almost hidden 
under a gaudy canopy of plumes and fans, the Sultan 
rode, mounted on a sorrel horse, which was led by the 
grooms. From his tarboush rose a single plume of a 
peacock's feather, fastened by a superb diamond, the 
first in Europe, which glistened like a star in the fore- 
head of Zullillah. He deigns not to look either to the 
right or left. Solemn and melancholy, like a blaze" 
Frenchman, dejected and slowly he moves ; and whilst 
the air is rent by the huzzas of the enthusiastic sol- 
diers, at the presence of the King, the inclination of his 
turban on the salvers on either side is the only recogni- 
tion of the acclamations of the people. The procession 
is closed by the household troops and minions of the 
Palace. The crowd hurries on behind towards the 
Mosque of Achmet. The whole pageant constitutes 
one of the most brilliant scenes of oriental pomp and 
splendor, and is the most gorgeous display in the mag- 
nificence of the Sublime Porte. 

The soldiers now close up the ranks, — bands of 
music discourse wild airs to his imperial taste, and the 
cannons boom as they enter the hollow square of the 
Atmeidan in front of the Court of Achmet. 



ARABAS ODALISQUES. 245 

Whilst there., the Sultan sacrifices a lamb, and dis- 
tributes myriads of sheep among the poor. This mere 
religious festival is over, and the rest of the day is 
spent in gala and rejoicing. The royal party retire in 
the same order to the Sublime Porte. On our return 
we were fortunate in meeting the procession of royal 
carriages, bearing the Sultanas and the concubines 
homeward. These vehicles, called in the East " Ara- 
bas," are worked by buffaloes, and their gay capari- 
sons, with tinsel head-gear and saddle-trees, hung 
round with long red tassels and cords, are in excellent 
keeping with the fantastic shape and colors of the 
painted body of these wagons. Their fair occupants 
sit within on rich mattresses, which relieve the rickety 
motion of these swinging calabashes. As I looked 
in, I was struck with the singular beauty of some of 
these dark-eyed Odalisques, who seemed no less con- 
scious of their charms than ready to display their fair 
proportions, and even not over-exact in the folds of 
their yashmacs. Fully aware of their security under 
the guard of eunuchs, and of the effect of their stolen 
interviews, they delight to play at coquetry with the 
eyes of passing Franks, and are even willing to drop 
their veils, so as to expose their fair complexions, and 
the pearly richness of a voluptuous bosom. These im- 
prisoned beauties are safe within the inclosure of their 
latticed cars, and through their bars they shoot out 



246 WOMEN OF THE HAREM. 

glances from their large eyelashes, which rankle deep 
in the wounded heart of the enduring, suffering, help- 
less, and admiring Christian. The higher the rank, 
and richer the person, the lighter are the folds of their 
ferigees and curtains ; and more ready they to display 
charms which ravish from being viewed, as fully as 
they are aware of the power of such sensations. We 
followed these freights of human beauties even to the 
water's edge, and saw them safely seated in their 
barges, as they were borne away to be immured amid 
the seclusions of the Harem, at the Palace of Dolma- 
bagdashe on the Bosphorus ; whilst we wafted adieu, 
from the corners of our pocket handkerchiefs. The 
remaining barges of the Court moved out into the 
stream, and the magnificent flotilla of the Sultan 
crossed our path, as we afterwards pushed out into the 
middle of the Horn, and watched those beautiful cas- 
tles of water, until they disappeared around the walls 
of Tophane. 

SAINT STEPHANO. 

After this, we passed to the shore of Galata, and 
taking a caique from the Wine- Wharf, engaged boat- 
men to take us to Saint Stephano. As we were glid- 
ing past the quay, our attention was occupied by 
groups of pretty children, variously engaged in their 



AN EVENING AT OUR MINISTERS. 247 

sports on shore. These miniature Mussulmen attract, 
from their beautiful faces and ludicrously pretty cos- 
tumes, which are more rigidly observed by them than 
among the older Turks. Their chief sport was a 
splendid spindle swing, in which they sat in boxes, and 
were alternately raised up in the air and let down 
again to the ground. As soon as we had floated past 
the limits of the Horn, we rounded Seraglio Point, 
and were borne by the rapid current into the Sea of 
Marmora, along the old walls of the city. We kept 
always in sight of the city, and until beyond the Seven 
Towers caught new views of its magnificent outlines. 
We met our Minister at the foot of his landing-place, 
ready to receive us. As we shook his extended hand, 
we felt sure of his hospitalities within. The door of 
his villa opens out on the sea, and gives a glorious 
prospect over Marmora and a thousand sails, stretch- 
ing upward to the city over its waters, which are only 
broken by the various groups of the Princes' Islands. 
We sat long over our sherry, discussing Turkey and 
Turkdom, and it was late when the moon peeped 
through the latticed window, and stole upon our party, 
cosily seated on a divan and smoking our pipes in va- 
pory clouds, which flitted between her and its bright 
reflections on the blue Propontis ; and it was midnight, 
of charming beauty and in soft repose, when we sunk 
into deep sleep, in harmony with hushed nature around, 



248 CONVERSATION ON TURKEY, 

and were charmed into forgetfulness and dreams by 
the murmuring waves of the sea, flowing under the 
piers of our chamber. 

The next morning, whilst at breakfast, Messrs. 
Dwight and Holmes, attached to the mission at Pera, 
came in, and soon after, Mr. Davis, an American, who 
had been invited by the Sultan to introduce the culture 
of cotton into Turkey. Gur conversation turned on 
general subjects, and ran in the following vein : 

Traveller. — Poor Davis is going to the city, to- 
day, to have his eye doctored. So we will examine 
him passing. How grows cotton in Turkey, Davis ? 

Mr. D. — Under the patronage of the Sultan, well. 
He has given me a gang of idle fellows, who are al- 
ways wanting to take a pull at their chibouques ; and 
if the soil was not naturally adapted for the staple, it 
would be more likely to sprout with Timbuctoo and 
old pipes. 

Traveller. — I suppose his Majesty, brother of the 
City of the Sun, has some slight degree of interest in 
the welfare of his kingdom, and that by this time he 
must have caught some few ideas from the Russian 
and French legations. 

" Yes," says Carr ; " this Head of the Turks thinks 
of establishing a factory, and has already put up the 
iron foundry, and had the doctor to cure his chimney ; 
but I suppose when the main pipe is put up, it will 



THE SULTAN, AND HIS COURT. 249 

run strong competition with all the chibouques and 
narguilleesofStamboul,and be put down for monopoly 
of smoke." 

" Doubtless our friend the Doctor will then find 
these fancies for improvement, in Turkey, to be fitful ; 
and when the old fox has gotten crotchets enough 
from the strangers, he will grow tired of innovations, 
as his soldiers are of Frank pantaloons ; or he may be 
rather inclined to throw his wards overboard, as he 
does some of his extra wives, in the Bosphorus." 

" But you must allow he is a man of some energy," 
says our Missionary ; " partial to Europeans, whom his 
subjects call f Dogs ;' for he has already introduced a 
line of steamers, speaks French, plays the piano, and 
furnishes his palace a la Paris ; so that there is some 
hope for the Ottoman Empire." 

" I allow it, Brother H ; but he is sadly given 

to his harem ; and I fear, if he does not follow his res- 
pectable mother's advice, our main stay in the Sultan 
will be taken away ; then we must ever content our- 
selves to confine our labors to the conversion of a few 
Armenians, or to straightening out the consciences of a 
few hungry and renegade Greeks." 

"Not at all," rejoined our Minister; — "Zulillah, 
this shadow of God, spreadeth the august folds of his 
authority, in preference, over the Republic of the Pot- 
tawattamies. At the last reception, and the exchange 



250 HYPERBOLE OF THE EAST. 

of salaams before the Divan of the Magnificent Gate, 
this Avenger of the Faithful was benign enough to 
receive four of that great nation, all of whom were 
over six feet three inches. That visible representation 
of our people so astonished his Majesty, as to fix an in- 
delible impression on his mind of the dignity, greatness, 
or tallness of the inhabitants of the domain of his bro- 
ther Phaedradrom of the Sun of the Occidental Zone, 
while it caused him to exclaim, with a ' Yok ! yok ! 
Allah il Allah, Abdillah ! and Mahomet is his greatest 
Prophet, after our brother Jehuphad of the Pottawat- 
tamies. Inshallah ! Mashallah !' " 

We arose at this point of remark, and bid adieu to 
our host and his friends, and as we left the shore, gave 
word to our bargemen to hurry us back to Stamboul. 

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 

Hitherto we have given only general remarks, or 
the impressions of an enchanted gazer. We will now 
enter more fully into detail, and write more of what is 
seen and heard. 

Probably no country in Europe is so little known 
as Turkey, or a people so little understood as the 
Turks. They rejoice in their total distinction from 
the rest of mankind. They know nothing of the ac- 
tion of those whom they deem barbarians, and care 



EL ALCORAN AND FAITH. 251 

less. They idolize the Sultan, as the successor of the 
Prophet, and respect the Czar of Russia, who had once 
thrashed them heartily in battle 



KORAN. 

The Koran regulates all the duties of Turkish life. 
It is their civil, religious, social, and intellectual guide. 
From the chapter of the " Man" to that of the " Cow" 
every office is prescribed and every obligation to bind 
the faithful. Every action conforms to its rule, and 
no true Turk holds of any account any dicta not found 
within its pages. This, and the sayings of the imme- 
diate friends of the Prophet, make up the volume of 
the written and unwritten law ; and the inspired 
thoughts which were inscribed on mutton blades and 
chips, have been gathered by his followers within the 
folios of this code. 

So great is the veneration of the Mussulman for 
its contents, that not even a slip of paper is ever 
thrown away or destroyed, for fear that on it may be 
written some precept of the Prophet or the holy name 
of Allah. 

Their religion, therefore, enters into every relation, 
and regulates every action of their life. Their attach- 
ment to their faith, and regularity of their devotions, 
is admirable, and whether in shop or house, in field or 

11* 



252 RELIGION AND LAW. 

tent, the hour of worship finds fit temple for his silent 
prayer. However you may be disposed to differ from 
these loyal followers of the false Prophet, you cannot 
but admire their consistency, or doubt their sincerity of 
faith, for the instances are rare of the conversion of a 
Turk to Christianity. 

You ask a Turk, why he fulfils the exact perform- 
ance of his ablutions, his punctilious cleanliness, his ten- 
der treatment of animals, his entertainment of strangers, 
and his scrupulous regard for truth, and he refers you 
to the injunctions of the Koran. 

Their attachment to their law and religion, which 
are one, is sustained by the early education of their 
children, and every breach in the observance of its 
commands, has not only the dreadful apprehension of 
the fearful anger of the Prophet, but the more certain 
punishment of the fault by his vicegerent on earth, the 
Sultan. 

With all their devotion and virtue of cleanliness, 
their urbanity of manners and propriety, they do not 
sustain a reputation of intellectual vigor. They still 
adhere to a belief in the Ptolemaic system of the 
planets' and sun's movements round the earth. 

They sustain their interest in the heavens by a 
careful observance of all natural phenomena, and no 
day of festival is set apart, or any action of impor- 
tance undertaken, until their astrologers have first 



MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 253 

taken the signs of the stars, and the times and seasons 
have been found to be in conjunction for the happy 
auspices of the event. 

Whilst among them, they had often deferred the 
celebration of the Bairaam, because the omens were 
not propitious. With all their resignation to the will 
of fate, and their comfortable assurance as to the result 
of their destiny, they believe it is to their advantage to 
take a fair start with futurity, and get all the chances 
in favor before leaping to the result. If the fire burns 
to consume their houses in its devouring element, they 
are eager to arrest the flame ; but if it masters all the 
energies of man, they are resigned to its fury, and 
console themselves with " God is great ;" and if sick- 
ness or pestilence visit, to terminate in the stroke of 
death, they are still calm under its influence and re- 
signed to the decree. They heave a deep sigh as they 
add, for composure, " God is great and — merciful," 

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 

In their manners and customs they appear the very 
antipodes of the civilized North, and all their habits are 
antithetical to Europeans. 

They sit on the ground cross-legged ; we sit up- 
right in a chair. They eat with their fingers ; we 
with our forks. Their women wear trousers ; their 



254 DWELLINGS AND INTERIORS. 

men wear petticoats. We take off our hats on enter- 
ing a room ; they take off their shoes. Our gentlemen 
visit the ladies ; their women the men. Our fair ones 
ride sideways ; their beauties ride straddle. They 
glory in plurality; we think one wife is enough. 
Their fair ones paint their eyelids and fingers ; ours 
only their cheeks. They shave only their heads, and 
consider their beards a mark of honor and distinction ; 
we shave our own faces and other people's notes. 
We think them barbarians and fanatics, and wonder at 
their taste ; they retaliate by calling us dogs, and are 
equally astonished at our want of good-breeding. We 
throw our maidens into the market ; they, their daugh- 
ters into the Bosphorus. 

In fact, both parties are in a disagreeable humor to 
enjoy each other's properties and peculiarities, and are 
mutually ill prepared to exchange the courtesies of 
their respective conditions ; so that there are scarcely 
two points in which they both agree ; and it may be 
said with truth, that what the Anglo-Saxon is, the Turk 
is not. 

HOUSES. 

The interior of their houses is admirable, and their 
rooms are so planned as to admit as much light as pos- 
sible at all sides. The form of the room is always a 



TURKISH ETIQUETTE COMPANY. 255 

square, and the passages leading to it from the open 
side at the door, prolong its form and convert it into an 
oblong. It is these projections to receive light, and the 
sinking of these passages and recesses of their corridors, 
which vary the form of their houses, and give to these 
dwellings their singularly picturesque aspect. The room 
is so managed as to leave the windows uninterrupted 
by partitions or walls. Rich cushions are spread on 
the floor to the height of the windows, and give one a 
fine view outward into the gardens. Thus they live 
always in the sight of external nature. 

The right corner of the divan is the seat of honor, 
and when the guests appear, they take their rank from 
their position as to the host. On the ground floor, 
overlooking the garden, is the court of the fountains. 
It is this excellent disposition of light, which displays 
so artistically their interior life, and gives such rich 
effect to their costumes and groups. 

As the guest enters, it is his duty to salute. The 
salaams are repeated and returned. He is then pre- 
ceded by the host, and takes his seat next to him on 
the divan ; the compliments of the day are exchanged, 
and conversation flows on moderately and with the 
same easy courtesy, without extraneous ceremony. 

Supple and active attendants then wait upon the 
party with pipes, and holding their long stems grace- 
fully balanced between thumb and finger, set the bowl 



256 DIVAN AND COFFEE DRINKING. 

within proper distance of the guest, and then with a 
gentle swing turn the amber mouthpiece to the lips of 
the receiver, and withdraw — always facing the com- 
pany — to their stand behind the lattice screen of the 
stairway. 

After this, coffee is brought in and served up by 
the servants in chaste fingans, resting in the hold of 
their silver zarfs. These are often of gold, wrought 
in rich filagree, and ornamented with jewels. As the 
coffee is presented, the guest receives it, by taking the 
cup out of the holder, as it is lowered to the level of 
his mouth ; and when emptied, the attendant returns 
to relieve the sitter, and, careful always to avoid con- 
tact with the guest, placing 6ne hand under the zarf, 
and the palm of the other over the cup, receives it on 
the salver as it leaves the lips of the drinker. All this 
service is performed without noise or confusion ; and 
so dextrous is their skill, that it never happens that 
the long snaky folds of the narguillee, or the slender 
stems of the chibouque are disturbed, in the rapid 
movements and tread of the nimble and well-trained 
domestics. After which the visit concludes with the 
temaneh, or ceremony of taking leave : — the guest 
always asking leave to go. He is then accompanied 
to the proper point by his host, whom he salutes again 
easily, without superfluous compliment, awkward bait- 
ings, or last words ; then the host resumes his place 



BATHS AND ABLUTIONS. 257 

on the divan, and the company remain in the same 
easy and charming attitudes, without having noticed 
the departures or the salaams. 

BATHS. 

Next in interest, from their interior arrangement 
and construction, are the Baths. The room set apart 
for this purpose is somewhat retired from the divan, 
but always convenient to the chambers and closets. 
They are usually lined with marble, and contain all the 
appurtenances of hot and cold water. The light falls 
beautifully through a cullendered roof, softened by 
lenses of ground glass, set into richly cut marble 
sockets. What could be more ravishing than its effect 
on these beautiful creatures of the Harem, standing 
within these lovely alcoves, and visited while bathing 
by such waves of pearly light ? 

I leave it to your fancy to describe the poetical as- 
pect of these bathing Georgians, and to picture forth 
the charms of an oriental bath, and turn to those more 
common halls, the receptacle of public bathers, the 
common baths of Stamboul and Scutari. On any day 
not set apart for the women, you can enjoy one of 
these Turkish washtubs. As you enter, you are met 
by the swashers and clothiers, who receive you while 
you are undressed, and stand ready to furnish towels 



258 PROCESS OF BATHING. 

and soap. After this you pass into the interior, where 
there are a series of smaller apartments, lighted from 
above, through the loopholes of thickly perforated cu- 
polas, and commence operations by being laid out in 
state on a hot slab of marble. You remain there until 
perspiration flows freely, and then are taken in hand. 
Fresh manipulations commence by a profuse lathering, 
until you are covered with white foam, or concealed 
under a cloud of soap-suds. Now follows the process 
of shampooing, or rubbing down, as the attendant 
passes his hand in a very rapid and soothing mode 
over the limbs, much after the sponge-wash of a horse- 
jockey ; and while you are under the lubric friction of 
this operation, thin flakes of flesh peel off, which cause 
you to shrink at this evidence of your own uncleanli- 
ness, whilst you are afraid of being skinned alive. 
After you have been thoroughly shampooed and cur- 
ried down, and have undergone the additional torture 
of ankles pulled out of joint, knees cracked, and bones 
twisted, much after the manner of wrung stockings or 
rags ; then succeeds the douche bath, when hot water 
is poured over your exhausted frame, already wrought 
into such a state of fervor and glow of delight, that 
you scarcely feel the heat of the liquid fire, which pu- 
rifies your existence by removing all particles of filth 
and dust. After this final act of purification, you are 
led over the hot marble pavement on griggles ; and as 



POETRY AND FACT OF THE BATH. 259 

you stagger out fainting and nerveless, quite overcome 
with stupor and vapor, you feel much like a quivering 
form of gelatine prior to collapse ; when you sink ex- 
hausted into the folds of a mattress in the anteroom, 
and swoon almost into forgetfulness of life or reality. 
There, within the envelope of your winding-sheet, you 
rest until your excitement is overcome by sleep, and 
your vigor is restored by repose. You awake to re- 
ceive the proffered cup of mocha from the caffeegee, 
and while away an hour amid the clouds of fragrant 
gebailler, blown from the burning censer of your chi- 
bouque. Thus amid delightful visions, animation, with 
the impulsive throbs of life, revives through your puri- 
fied body. You then dress, go into the outer room, 
and escape, satisfied with one trial of the Turkish 
bath. 

We went into one near the market of the Fanar, 
and I assure you we walked but once round, and then 
fled from the effluvia of filth and stench which arose, 
at times taking strong hold of our noses, and inhaling 
large vials of jessamine and otto of roses, to prevent 
contagion and avoid disease. We had enough of the 
Turkish bath, and could only enjoy one in private, 
and that, perhaps, in the secret chambers of the Se- 
raglio. 



260 HIGHWAY SCENES. 

LIFE IN THE STREETS. 

The sight revels in those confused pictures of life 
and men, which crowd upon your vision as you wander 
in your daily walks through the lanes and byways of 
this glorious city ; and the imagination is strained to 
find fit description of those motley contrasts which 
mingle the eternal beauties of nature, with the ever- 
varying and gorgeous spectacles of her streets. From 
early dawn, when you are awakened by the hoarse cry 
of the vender of chiamac, who passes your door with 
his towering load, to the last cry of the Muezzim at 
evening; and until night approaches, when you are 
again disturbed by the rattling wand of the passing 
watch, or the startling call of " yangen van !" fire ! fire ! 
you are ever on the alert, and susceptible to the thou- 
sand objects and incidents which surround you. 

As you walk through the long array of columnai 
tombs decking the hillside of Pera, you see here and 
there, scattered groups of beautiful children, playing in 
full health amid the broken stones of the decimated Ja- 
nissaries ; and beyond, through the avenues of terebinth 
and cypress, you follow that hurrying gang of Turks, 
bearing aloft the frail relics of mortality, as they almost 
run to the grave, and press to fulfil a duty enjoined by 
the Koran, which protects them from any taint by pol- 
lution. 



CAFFEEGEES AND DEEWANS. 261 

Over the hill you look out on the gay procession of 
young children, who are escorting a companion to 
school, amid sound of chant and notes of wild music ; 
and as you watch the glowing eyes of the young neo- 
phyte, you cannot but admire these pleasing introduc- 
tions to their education, and these charming artifices 
which soften the avenue to learning, and cheer the 
scholar, while they bind the affections of the children 
to their teachers. 

Far off, by the angle of a corner, there are groups 
of singing women, shrieking more like funeral dirges, 
than what was thought to be entertainment ; and as 
you hurry on, passing the doors of the caffeegee and 
wine shop, you look in upon groups of revellers and 
idlers, listening to the tales of a storyteller or dervish, 
or joining in the dance of young boys, whilst others 
are strewn about, vaguely smoking away existence 
from the mouthpieces of their chibouques and the snaky 
lengths of the narguillee. 

Here by the bridge you are startled by the sharp 
snap of the Suredjee's lash, who runs before to an- 
nounce the approach of his noble lordship, and you 
are amused on every turn to see the deference paid to 
a child, the infant son of some Lord of the House- 
hold. 

And in the gay confusion occasioned by the mo- 
mentary stoppage of the crowd, you are struck with 



262 MOTLEY CROWDS. 

the rich costumes which are huddled together in such 
picturesque confusion ; while fustanelled Greek, broad- 
tailed Armenians, the ragged Jew, pilgrim and camels, 
Arabs and Circassians, are held aback, showing the 
richest contrast of color and races ; and, opposed to the 
glorious views of the Horn, the white walls of the city, 
and the shipping, which almost bury their prows into 
the windows of the town. 

Hurrying along, came a band of Hamals, porters of 
enormous strength, dragging a tun up the streets of 
Galata, whilst lean, lank, mangy dogs growl as they 
dispute the way. 

Across in the city, the crowd grows denser within 
the narrow limits of the bazaars, where the little space 
allowed is filled with venders of sweetmeats and pulp 
and water, mingled with lumbering vehicles and the 
spirited coursers of the Prophet's racers, whilst Pachas 
pass with their bands of followers swelling in dignity 
with their tails; and all are hurrying onward, and 
pushing their way through that gay array of goods, 
wares, arms, and morocco, which line the walls of the 
merchants' stalls. 

Aside of the main bazaars, which are nothing but 
covered streets, are the khans of rich Persians and Ar- 
menians. Here the richest goods are displayed, and 
within their narrow and ill-furnished chambers, are ar- 
ranged rich shawls of Cachmere, fine linen of Damas- 



BAZAARS TURKISH HAPPINESS. 263 

cus, the wealth of the Indies, and gold of Africa ; all 
brought hither under convoy of the caravans, which 
here discharge ; and they also open their halls for the 
entertainment of travellers and pilgrims. The Arme- 
nians are the true bankers of the Turks, who are not 
permitted to take interest by the Koran. 

The Turks have limited ideas of commercial enter- 
prise, as they sell their goods by the piece ; but they 
are never troubled about the sale of their merchandise, 
and will smoke cross-legged, for hours, waiting pa- 
tiently until chance or good fortune favors them with 
a buyer. 

The life of the " Bazaars " makes up the chief at- 
traction of the city ; and as they seemed always well 
frequented by the women, presented a fair field for ob- 
servation and remark. 

These, and the thousand other sights, mingle with 
the beauties of nature, and correspond to the glories of 
this sweet land. It is in that nature that the Turk 
finds his happiness and home. Here, under the favors 
of rich skies, tropical sunshine, and the contentment 
of his placid nature, he revels amid his visions of the 
Paradise of the Prophet. Here he surrounds himself 
with the heaven of his women, where all the treasures 
of earth are brought together at the " Golden Gates of 
the City of the Sun." If he indulges in the luxury of 
opium, in women and his wives, he is comforted to 



264 CROWNING GLORY OP THE EAST. 

think that the Prophet sanctioned them first ; and 
whilst he dreams away existence under the seductive 
influence of the narcotic, he revels amid visions of 
Houris before the gates of a Paradise, and wakes to 
the realities of concubines, who always looked to 
us like fat ghosts, dressed up in green and yellow 
flannel. 

They are entirely a curious people, but not desti- 
tute of many points of excellent example. We were 
among them quite long enough to study them, and to 
gain an insight into the glories of their city, at the ex- 
treme east of Europe. One indulges in the full tide of 
oriental extravagance until you soon cease to wonder 
at the Turks, and fancy yourself estranged. You en- 
joy the land, because here, only, unalloyed repose and 
quiet is respectable, and you have no disturbing anxie- 
ties for a place beyond. 

Each week brings with it new stores of delight, 
new features of interest, and fresh studies of the cha- 
racter of this comico-serious people. Every day de- 
velopes fresh beauties and new charms. 

And although you may see no Viziers, enter no 
Harems, captivate no Houris, nor rub the Aladdin lamp, 
without and around you are the Bosphorus and the Pro- 
pontis ; and in the city and its histories, its antiquities 
and its shores, you have a never-failing source of at- 
traction, wonderment, and delight. 



DECEPTION OF THE SCENE. 



265 



And added to all this, it is the glory of nature 
which constitutes the high honors of the East, and 
make up the charms of the Bosphorus and its treasures. 
But that city with its emblazoned palaces, mosques, 
and minarets of beauty, deceives you ; and they are 
the mere show of a whited sepulchre, of magical fair- 
ness without; but within, full of all manner of filth, 
uncleanliness, and extortion ; such is Stamboul. 

One by one, my companions deserted me, and I 
was left alone to enjoy the beauties of Stamboul and 
the Propontis. 

The approaching colds of the winter, and occa- 
sional falls of snow, reminded me of the advanced 
season of the year, and of the propriety of removing 
to the warmer climes of Egypt. Two months among 
the Turks had already surfeited my perception of their 
manners and their habits ; and I was now ready to 
escape from the sadness of the overcoming change of 
nature. 




Armenian Merchant. 



DEPARTURE FOR EGYPT. 

SAIL TO ALEXANDRIA. 

Having provided myself with a firman from the 
Porte, and certain little necessary stores for the voy- 
age, I secured my passage in the " Lion," and on the 
afternoon of the fifth of December set foot on the deck 
of this miserable little Egyptian steamer. We were 
to have sailed at five o'clock, p. m., but with the delays 
incidental to all Turkish proceedings, we were detain- 
ed until dark, awaiting the arrival of the Captain and 
Commissario — two necessary personages for the prose- 
cution of a voyage. 

In the meanwhile I was occupied in watching the 
movements of the animated groups on deck, and in 
enjoying the curiosity of my Ottoman fellow-passen- 
gers, who seemed astonished at my rashness in trusting 
to the mercy of their company. At length our Cap- 
tain arrived, and after one or two commands from the 



SEA OF MARMORA AND THE DARDANELLES. 267 

Porte, and a consultation of the planets and moon, we 
shipped our Commissario and health bill, and then 
moved off around the Point of the Seraglio. We 
were no sooner out than our Moslems began their de- 
votions, and each spreading his little rug on the deck, 
commended himself to the benedictions of Allah and 
the Prophet. 

The sun rose gloriously, casting its rosy hues on 
the now broad Sea of Galipoli, and tinged the tops of 
the snow-clad distant mountains. About noon we 
passed the Castle of the Dardanelles, rising fearfully 
over the narrow headlands of those Straits. Below the 
forts, we stopped awhile at the low village of Kalessi, 
to increase the number of our passengers, where the 
crew made rapid purchases of koolehs and water-jars, 
which are made at this place. 

Near this point you enter the Hellespont, and pass 
a narrow strip of land, which runs from the Straits to 
the Cape Berbieri. Somewhere near the site of an- 
cient Abydos, is the spot from which Xerxes crossed 
his bridge of boats, and Leander swam to visit Hero. 

Before leaving the Cape, you pass the harbor in 
which the Grecian ships were drawn up during the 
Trojan War ; also a picturesque island and the For- 
tress of Duskarda, on the promontory of the ^Egean, 
covered with windmills. 

As we passed out of the shelter of the Cape, a violent 
12 



268 STORM AT SEA TCHESMEE. 

wind arose, and before sunset there were few of our 
passengers in condition to enjoy the gorgeous aspect 
of the sinking sun. We had a fearful sail, as we ran 
that night along the Asiatic coast among groups of the 
Sporades Isles. Our little boat rode with fitful and 
sudden tossings over the troubled waters of the Archi- 
pelago, and long before day, I started up and walked 
on deck, too tremulous to sleep secure under the con- 
duct of these savage fanatics. 

We were off Sarkis, and dark, gloomy clouds hung 
in heavy woolly masses over the black outlines of the 
rocks of Scio. The vessel plunged wildly in that sea, 
and there was nothing to be seen in the dark sky 
above but two brilliant stars, smiling amid the terror 
of the scene, like twin angels watching over a sleep- 
ing monster. I looked around on my companions on 
deck, who had slept above on their mattresses and car- 
pets; they were completely drenched by the spray. 
To crown our misfortune, a heavy rain commenced 
falling, and which forced me below. I threw myself 
upon my bench, resigned to fate and Providence, and 
slept securely, until I woke up within the harbor of 
Tchesmee, in Asia Minor, just south of Smyrna. 

Capidan Suleiman, a good-natured and portly Turk, 
not unlike our early Dutch skippers, was too prudent 
of his trust to tempt the fortunes of this fickle sea : he 
had a habit of anchoring at night, and running into 



ARAB SAILORS. 269 

port at the first signs of foul weather ; and once with- 
in the secure anchorage of Tchesmee, he waited there 
until the next favorable wind. In this way we coasted 
through the Archipelago, always in sight of land. 

Two days of rest within this snug port of Asia, 
gave me an insight into Arab manners and life. On 
board were several pilgrims to Mecca, a few wild Al- 
banians, a family of Jews, and a crew of Arabs, sub- 
jects of Mehemet Ali, as ungainly and awkward a 
gang as ever were set to man a vessel. The chief 
pastime of the Captain was to make them cast the log, 
at which they were particularly expert, although our 
reckoning never gave more than seven knots the hour. 
In hauling in the ropes or managing a sail, they were 
strikingly funny, as they had no idea of pulling hand 
over hand ; they made a cordon on deck and ran round 
the hatches with a taught sheet, until they ran out the 
entire length of the line, in order to perform the ope- 
ration required. Fortunately for my apprehensions, 
our engineer had been educated in England, and his 
little stock of English aided me in deciphering the 
movements and orders of our pilot. 

Our Commissario had disposed of the charge of my 
provisions to his suttler, a miserable, dirty Greek, whose 
long nose, slouched fez, and broad-tail Armenian back- 
piece, so disgusted me with the animal, that I had little 
relish to receive any food at his hands. The very sight 



270 TURKISH MEALS. 

of the man gave me a distaste for his caudles ; and in 
spite of the customs of the Turks and their aversion to 
dogs, I was forced to join the Captain at his meals or 
starve, as my own little hamper of roast fowl and 
meats had by this time been exhausted. 

We had a select party at our first dinner in com- 
mon — the Captain, two Turkish EfFendis, the Commis- 
sario, and a Frank. The usual wash was performed 
before sitting at meals. The first course was a large 
lottery of thin broth, in which the meat was the prize ; 
and each party sought a portion, by a dip of his spoon 
into the common tureen. In the simplicity of oriental 
manners the use of the fingers is preferred to forks, and 
in the dispatch of the next course of meats, their use 
was indispensable. Then followed in order, forced 
meats, and Kabots, a delicate preparation of minced 
roast, chopped fine and wrapped in vine-leaves ; after 
which pudding and sweetmeats closed the entertain- 
ment. All these dishes are seasoned with lemon and 
served with your hands ; hence the necessity of wash- 
ing again after dinner, when your servant comes with 
a bowl of water, and as you hold your hands over the 
basin, he pours out its contents with his right hand, 
and rubs them dry with the towel in his left. Then 
comes in the narguillee and chibouque, and when you 
go on deck the caffeegee follows you with a small cup 
of rich fragrant mocha, served up in a delicate zarf of 
filagree silver. 



BOAT TO SHORE. 271 

It is sunset by the time you get through your last 
pipe, and the rugged rocks of the cliffs glow with all 
the gorgeous tints of an Eastern sky. The Muezzim 
proclaims the hour of prayer from shore : Suleiman, 
Mustapha the merchant, and the Hadgi spread their 
little rugs on deck, before they all kneel down in wor- 
ship around me ; then rising after frequent genuflexions, 
stand with their faces turned to the east, in the direc- 
tion of Mecca. Beyond, the Jew mumbles over his 
ritual of forms, resting on his sea-chest, whilst under 
the hatches rise the wild notes of the boys at the pumps, 
and fearfully through the gratings glare the infernal 
blaze of the furnaces upon the solitary and bold out- 
lines of my poor Arab servant, Ibrahim, in prayer also, 
at his salaams. 

The next morning I joined the launch for shore, 
and after having landed, walked over the cliffs of that 
miserable town, whence 1 overlooked the flat roofs of 
its crumbling dwellings, scattered along the brow of 
the hill, and tumbling in ruins on that soil from which 
their materials were originally taken. 

True to nature, our Jews are bent upon a trade, 
and I follow them through the streets, up to the solitary 
castle and to the low shop of another of Israel, until 
they enter to purchase wine — that musty, sour, and 
dull liquid which grows in the vineyards of Asia. 

What a chaffering over four casks of the juice, and 



272 RAISIN PACKING. 

a wrangling of Jew with Jew ! At length the bargain 
is closed at 30 piastres, about $1 50 per barrel, and the 
booty is swung by ropes on two poles, and carried on 
the backs of three blackamoors to the customs, for in- 
spection and duty. What a host of miserable wretches 
you meet in this solitary and desert island ! The 
women are so ugly, that neither their lords are jealous 
of their charms, nor are they themselves burthened 
with the vanity of veils. 

Near the Custom House I stopped to observe the 
Raisin trade, and the process of packing the dried 
fruit prior to shipment. It is much the old story of 
nigger molasses. The fruit is thrown into barrels, and 
stamped down by the naked feet of a gang of Turks ; 
a gay chorus of wild song lightens the jumping labor 
of the press, and the grape dance forms a picture suffi- 
ciently perfect in itself, without going into the details 
of the gravel. For our own part, we shall ever prefer 
the Malaga box fruit after that sight. 

I had observed the Captain, as he went ashore se- 
veral times during our stay, to visit a solitary house on 
the sea shore ; and that the jolly-boat lingered at the 
landing whilst he withdrew behind the colonnade of 
its front. Ibrahim informed me that it had been for- 
merly inhabited by a schoolmaster, a man of great re- 
pute in the island, and that the pedagogue had com- 
mitted suicide. It seems that the Turks hold these 



PATMOS OF ST. JOHN. 273 

persons in like estimation as their priests ; hence the 
spot of such a death is consecrated, and becomes a 
mosque, " presided over by the spirit of the dead ;" and 
they are wont to resort thither to pray for a successful 
voyage, or to present the offering of a stranger's obla- 
tion. " Our Captain is a very pious man," said my in- 
formant. I wonder if he really thought so ? 

The next morning Ibrahim rushed into the cabin, 
and informed us that the Captain wished the Effendi 
Ingles to see his chart of Nicaria and the Fourni Isl- 
ands, as we were passing both within sight of Samos 
and the Patmos of St. John. 

After running through this group of islands, the 
wind changed, and heavy clouds, foreboding storm, 
caused the Captain to make port, and anchor that night 
at Lero. The appearance of this island was much that 
of the other Archipelago. Its snug harbor, and pic- 
turesque ruin crowning the height of the eastern pro- 
montory, were the only charms. A walk amongst its 
dilapidated ruins called up mournful sentiments over 
these relics of departed Greece, and melancholy 
thoughts of that contrast which these once Grecian 
isles afforded to the history of their ancient glories. In 
vain I sought among the people some traces of Achilles' 
greatness ; but under the lineaments of a few piratical- 
looking fishermen on shore, I did remark some faint 
likenesses of the portraits of those sea-robbers so cle- 
verly drawn by Homer. 



274 REMAINS OF THE HOSPITALLERS. 

We set sail the next morning for Rhodes, and pass- 
ing Calamo, and a succession of beautiful islands 
which stud the bosom of this deep-blue sea, entered its 
port at night, and weighed our anchor next to the 
haven which was formerly spanned by the ancient 
Colossus. 



RHODES. 

I was so full of the classic associations which gath- 
ered around this " Land of Roses," the abode of the 
Knights of St. John, and the scene of one of the most 
gallant sieges on record, that I rose long before dawn, 
and walked the deck, to cool the fervor of my excited 
fancy. A drenching rain, which did it more effectually, 
almost spoiled the sunrise I had awaited, and damped 
my ardor, whilst I was shielded from the fury of the 
storm under the fore-yard. Thence I listened to the 
thunder, and peering through the awakening dawn, 
caught my first view of the town, by lightning. 

After breakfast, I landed and took a walk through 
the town, which give me an opportunity of examining 
the fine architectural remains of the ruins, and to de- 
cipher the shields of the ancient palaces. Association 
was busy to people their halls with clattering of mailed 
warriors, and to bring up the sound of arms and min- 
strelsy breaking through the shattered casements of 



ARCHITECTURAL BEAUTIES AND SCENERY. 275 

these ruined walls. These shields evidenced the exis- 
tence of a high state of art in that day ; and among 
these mouldering heaps there were some rich bits of 
ornamental design, which would have held an elevated 
place in the highest class of the architecture of the 
middle ages. 

The old fortifications still bear the impress of their 
former strength, and of the magnitude of the original 
undertaking ; and you can yet trace its triple line of 
moat and dike. The new town has effaced most of 
the relics of the Knights. The old Cathedral has been 
converted into a mosque, and the Hospital of the 
Knights into a granary ! But the island still wears an 
aspect of loveliness and beauty, and its pure skies, fine 
climate, and fertile soil, yet claim for it the praises of 
the sons of song. Its inhabitants have fled, and the 
glory of its days departed. A few straggling coasting 
vessels assume the place of its ancient galleys ; but the 
old form of the castle is preserved, and the memory of 
its deeds of prowess and chivalry have passed through 
the wreck of the old world, and still live in the manners 
and liberal courtesies of the present. 

Here, too, you first observe the peculiar features of 

an Eastern landscape in the palm-trees, orange groves, 

and figs, the Saracenic order of the architecture, and 

the gorgeous groups of the crowded streets. 

The first sight of that port was filled with peculiar 
12* 



276 COAST OF MARMARI THE ORIENT. 

charms. The remarkable shape of the harbor, the rich 
fringes of the walls, an occasional tower, the noble forms 
of those stately Kalas which guard the harbor, the 
graceful sweep of the date-palm, overtopping gateway 
and citadel, the lofty minarets looming from the distance ; 
the crowd of boats and animated streets, — blended in 
harmony with the soft climate of this sweet land, the 
deep, transparent, ultra-marine of the sea, and a sky suf- 
fused with the most delicate tones of light, or tinged with 
the hues of the blushing dawn ; and, when the pale rose- 
vapor which veiled the hilly outlines of the coast of 
Marmari spread its mantle of grace over the Isle of 
Rhodes, as it sat on those bright waters, it contributed 
to perfect a picture of rare beauty, and the triumph of 
earth loveliness in the land of the Orient ; whilst the 
contrast of the noble works of Gothic, left by the 
Knights, with the unseemly whiteness of Saracenic 
tower, raised a fit parallel of the differences between 
the present inhabitants and the glorious Crusaders; 
which is exhibited so strikingly by the mingled groups of 
the interior, where Jews, Turks, Arabs, and Armenians 
are so curiously united, as to call back, with force, the 
early history of the wars, and cause one to lament the 
departed chivalry of the Hospitallers of St. John, and to 
mourn over the ruins of that Rhodes, whose merchants 
and princes once ruled the seas, and fitted up the island 
as one of the most enchanting spots on earth's domain. 



PHYSIC AND SEA PRACTICE. 277 

The harbor of Rhodes now affords shelter to a few 
coasters, and the navy of the Pacha, which calls here for 
supplies and water, where the fertility of the soil cause 
both to be had in great abundance. 

We left Rhodes about eight o'clock in the morning. 
The island and town present a fine effect in the dis- 
tance ; that far-off land is Marmari. During the day 
the weather became variable, and towards sunset the 
sky is overcast and gloomy. The dull course of our 
voyage was relieved by a few lessons in Arabic, and 
the mate continued very diligently in his instruction. 
The engineer, a boy, and one of the crew speak a little 
English, and in their company I make up the loss of 
better society. 

During the night the wind increased, and raised a 
violent storm. I was dreadfully sick, in common with 
all my fellow-passengers, and was but in poor condi- 
tion to administer a dose of laudanum to Capidan Su- 
leiman, who complained of headache, caused by too 
great watchfulness and want of rest. This old Arab 
was so civil and obliging, that I could not but act phy- 
sician without diploma, on the emergency. My skill 
with the patient soon brought me in practice on the 
Commissario, who had been attacked during the night 
with severe colic ; and although I owed him a grudge 
for his bad provisions, I could not listen to his groans 
and " mashallahs," as he lay beside me on his shelf, 



278 PHAROL OF ALEXANDRIA. 

without giving him a potent prescription of calomel 
and jalap. 

Early the next morning we came in sight of the 
Pharol of Alexandria. On arriving within port, we 
were informed that we carried the yellow flag, and we 
must go into quarantine for ten days. Deep gloom 
overspread faces which had been hitherto animated 
with joy at the thoughts of home and soothing pipes 
of repose. We thought it was bad enough to have 
passed through ten days of storm and ocean ; and 
that we had been sufficiently discharged by cascading, 
to secure a very clean bill of health. The very Turks 
vented their indignation at this insult added to injury, 
and the old Arabs looked sulkily in the face of the 
Porte and the authority of the Pacha himself. 



TEN DAIS IN THE LAZARETTO. 

Whilst preparations are made for our disembarka- 
tion, I seize the opportunity to note down my griev- 
ances against Turkish- Arabic Pyroscaphs, and warn 
my friends never to intrust themselves to their dirty 
steamers, if they are desirous of being well fed, lodged, 
and provided. They are dilatory and dangerous, and 
as they are in the service of the Pacha, they move 
only at the caprice of the government, and no reliance 
can be placed on their start from one port or their 
arrival at another. Should any one be anxious to 
study Eastern manners, life, or customs, no better 
means could be devised than a sail in one of these 
boats ; and if you are not starved on the passage, you 
will be perfected in their language by a sojourn for a 
fortnight in the Lazaretto Egyptiano. 

Shortly after weighing anchor, I took leave of our 
civil Captain, gave him my salaams, and scattered a li- 
beral supply of backsheesh to the crew ; then giving a 



280 ROW TO QUARANTINE. 

Kata harah, or adieu, to all, I jumped into the launch 
alongside of the steamer, and joined the party who had 
been detailed for a quarantine on land. Our persons 
and baggage were stowed away in a huge scow which 
lay ready to receive them, and we were then pushed 
away with a strange jumble of trunks, luggage, bedding, 
and utensils. We were towed by four men by a line 
attached to another boat before us, and rowed as things 
polluted in the direction of the quarantine. Such sep- 
aration from our motive power, by cordon sanitaire, 
kept away all contact with contagion. 

Nothing occurred until landing, save the accidental 
falling off of one of our Turk's turbans, which threw 
him into a towering passion. That, added to the cha- 
grin of the quarantine, and a supposed outrage to his 
offended dignity, caused him to beat the harmless Jew 
boy at his elbow, thinking him to be the more imme- 
diate and accessible provoker of the insult, instead of 
the wind which then blew over his pate in a gust. 

Thus we were dragged along, much like criminals 
or cattle. When we reached the wharf we were de- 
serted by our tow-boats, and forced to moor our barge 
to the piers, so as to remove our effects on shore; 
another cautionary measure to exclude disease. We 
then proceeded to unload our ark, when each, laden 
with his own baggage, and giving an occasional lift to 
his neighbor, marched on as directed, to the inner court 



THE LAZARETTO. 281 

of a prison-looking building, distributed into several 
wards, in one of which, three cottages were set apart 
for the reception of twenty-five persons ! 

Having effected an entrance and deposited our 
loads, we all stood looking in mute amazement at the 
things we were, and the position in which we were 
placed ; whilst the sad reality of the fact of a quaran- 
tine was depicted in every countenance. This solemn 
suspense was soon interrupted by the entrance of our 
attendant guard, preceded by an Italian major-domo, 
dressed in a stout monkey-jacket (for these are times 
when a fellow-feeling makes description minute), who 
poked at us with his cane, and signified that we must 
arrange ourselves, in order to be counted by the poll, 
and then allotted to our respective dwellings ; after 
which, fresh water was brought, and we were locked 
up for the night. Our apartment was one of three 
rooms on the second story, overlooking the inner court 
of the jail, and bounded by the blank wall of the oppo- 
site ward. Our chamber, which was occupied by five, 
was entirely unfurnished, with nothing but bare plas- 
ter and an uneven floor of mortar. Under the proper 
disposition of our varied stores and stocks, it began to 
assume a comfortable aspect. Trunks were arranged 
for seats, cooking utensils were set up, carpets and 
pillows were spread, and narguillees and chibouques 
were mounted to lend an air of elegance to our furni- 



282 MOTLEY COMPANY. 

ture. The novelty of this situation, and the fatigue 
occasioned by a porterage of heavy trunks, brought 
with it a slight turn of despond, from which I was soon 
relieved by the timely sympathy of a friendly Turk, 
who took compassion on my solitude, and charged 
himself with making me as comfortable as circum- 
stances would admit. One European, among twenty- 
four barbarians, feels wofully the disuse of civilization 
among a crowd of Turks, Arabians, Albanians, Nubi- 
ans, and Jews. "" 

My courage did not desert me in this strange jar- 
gon of my cell, and the best use was made of the Ara- 
bic phrases learnt on shipboard. I felt that diffidence 
was misplaced, when the want of tongue might entail 
an absence of food. 

Preparations were soon made for our evening meal ; 
and whilst the savory stew of brown bread and vinegar 
is simmering over the glowing embers of our charcoal 
furnace, and our gurgling narguillees keep sonorous 
accord with the bubbling caldron, I occupy myself with 
the features of my strange room-mates. 

Under the lingering rays of sunset, stealing through 
the lattice of our grated windows, I mark the strong 
outlines of our hero of the Lost Turban, whose squinty 
eyes shine with the obliquity of daylight ; nearest the 
window is a Turkish soldier dressed in the army gray, 
and by his side, my friend in misfortune, a stalwart lad 



A NIGHT IN QUARANTINE. 283 

of a merry laugh and countenance, who officiates as 
our valet, and works awhile with the cook ; whilst 
your Frank is shivering for want of cloak, withdrawn 
from the rest of the company. Thus seated and apart, 
I listened awhile to the animated gabble of these Mus- 
sulmen, until fatigue and the excitement of the day 
brought with it gentle slumber, which was occasion- 
ally disturbed by the whooping, wheezing cough of our 
watch-drub, who snored with all the variations of a 
donkey, and kept me awake to sharp sensations of cold 
until I fell asleep, with a determination to endure, and 
to make the best of what was excellent practice for 
one, who was about to travel in the interior of Egypt. 

Bright and early the next morning, we were awak- 
ened by the stirring beat of the reveillee. Then break- 
fast was prepared from stewed figs and dip toast, after 
which narguillees and pipes ; and whilst our apartment 
is swept out and garnished, and we are awaiting the 
first visit of the health-officer, I dispatched a letter to 
our Consul at Alexandria, and had the pleasure of see- 
ing it well cut and smoked, before it was mailed for 
the city. 

One smiles through provocation at the whole order 
of quarantine arrangements. Their whole design tends 
rather to render them gloomy and cheerless abodes, 
and to induce disease, rather than to enliven these 
salutary lessons of health. No communication or con- 



284 POMPOUS OFFICIALS. 

tact is allowed with the external world. Victuals, let- 
ters, clothing, and every thing you desire, comes to you 
through the transition interval of that railed passage, 
through which every article is slid on a railway, in a 
box attached to a long pole. 

Your medium of exchange is by depositing your 
money in this box, and after it has been taken out and 
dipped in vinegar, your orders are filled, and the poles 
shoved back with the articles exchanged. 

We are looked at, talked to, and regarded very 
much as if we were beasts in a menagerie. 

Just then our Domo, the Prince of Inspectors, en- 
tered, followed by his servant armed with a pair of 
tongs. He orders the rooms to be cleared, and our 
trunks to be opened, in order to satisfy himself that 
they contained no articles infected or latent with con- 
tagion. Every thing is turned over and upset by the 
peering tongs of the guard, and this chiffonier of health 
throws together all soiled clothing as polluted subjects. 
Fortunately for myself, my trunk had gone through 
quarantine before me, and thus escaped too close a 
prying. 

In my anxiety to inquire for my companions who 
had preceded me to the East, I overran the legal limits, 
but the snapping forks of these ugly tongs, as they 
closed upon my ear, soon brought me back within the 
prescribed distance. Every official wears an air of 



VISIT OF THE DOCTOR. 285 

suspected corruption. The Commissario grows warm 
in the chase of evils, and ardent in the purging of dis- 
ease. 

The doctor arrives, and as we stand in file, we are 
specially examined as to our health. 

Fortunately for me, the Medico spoke French ; 
even his aspect was awfully remote and distant. " Que 
voulez vous ?" asks the doctor, smiling and bowing as 
I approach. " Allez vous en" struck up the tongs, as 
I jumped back and replied: "Give my letter to the 
post, and send me some bedding and something to eat 
from the city; get me some coverlets, for I am not 
used to sleeping on mortar and carrying my trunk to 
bed for a pillow.'' " Tres bien, vous en serez servi. 
Au revoir." 

Shortly after, as I was sunning myself in the yard, 
the guard called out for the Inglez, and another visitor is 
announced from the railing. " Haben sie mein freund 
gesehen?" says a coarse Dutchman over the fence. 
" Kommend von Rhodes to Scandria ?" " Nein, mein 
herr !" No. " Was fur ein man, war er ?" Just then, 
I heard a whisper through the bars, uttering "what 
horrid Dutch !" and I retired with disgust, as he asked 
again what profession I was of, telling him it was none 
of his business, and bidding him good morning. It is 
bad enough to become Polyglot, without being required 
to be ubiquitous. 



286 SMOKING A TRAVELLER. 

After this, I returned to my cell, repeated a few 
Arabic phrases, and growled, verily, like a beast, " simi- 
lis, similibus." Living in dens engenders animal pro- 
pensities, but even your bestiality grows too sensible 
when fleas and insects creep into your skin for 
lodgings. 

It was a curious scene to watch the curing of my 
companions, who were stripped to the waists and tho- 
roughly smoked with borax, whilst I was engaged in 
the corner, doing a little family washing. As I was not 
smoked myself, I looked upon it rather as a private 
amusement, and a process undergone for their own 
personal satisfaction. 

It is now evening of this beautiful day, and the sky 
has been rendered more clear by the purifying effects 
of a recent shower. The evening meal is again par- 
taken of, our shutters closed, candles are mounted on 
a couple of tin cannisters, and the rest of the company 
are engaged in listening to the stories of our loquacious 
Imaun. "Mehemet Ali" seems to be the topic of his 
tale ; while the frequent use of " Allah," and the surprise- 
denoting sounds of " mashallah," mark the joy of the 
listeners, and the intermingling of the sacred with pro- 
fane. 

So runs the monotonous and dull course of our 
daily life. Our very keepers treat us with little inter- 
est, and one dull feeling of suspense and listlessness 
wears on the faces of our company. 



SKETCH OF THE INTERIOR. 287 

Some of us find recreation in the court by games 
of ball and feats of strength. The old Arab guard 
gives me a few military exercises in Arabic. Some 
are engaged in washing, others in cooking, Turks at 
prayers, and Albanians and Jews conversing with the 
keepers outside the palisades. 

Our weather is the chief source of our delight. 
Such brilliant skies ! and a perpetual blue sky above. 

The merry chirping of the sparrows that fly about 
the court, recalls to my memory my first landing in 
England, and brings up a marked contrast with my 
present solitude. Piccioli's flower is alone wanting to 
complete the reality of my prison-life. At one mo- 
ment deep sadness and almost melancholy broods over 
the mind ; and again, reflection hints at the excellent 
lessons which confinement teaches, and this healthful 
restraint which furnishes examples of patience and re- 
signation, until one feels it to be almost a privilege 
to sacrifice a portion of existence for the benefit of 
others. 

The whole morning was pretty much occupied in 
sketching my interior — our parvum omne — kitchen, 
parlor, bedroom, and jail. My Jewish friend tells me 
that it is Saturday ; and he rigidly refrains from smok- 
ing on that day. In the meantime I take a few more 
drills in Arabic, exercise in the open air, fight a thou- 
sand imaginary air battles, and follow the beck and 



288 TURKISH SALUTATIONS. 

command of our guard, who orders me to Ocho out, 
or Tailli — men hinni — men alii ! But that spotless blue 
of heaven, and the fine soft air of the climate breathes 
a perpetual spring of joy and enjoyment to the heart. 

At noon our Moslems kneel in prayer ; I have 
watched them during the whole period of quarantine, 
and they never fail. After dinner, we have a visit from 
the Imaun, or priest. He is received with great dig- 
nity as he enters, and is saluted, " Salaam Aleikoum !" 
" Aleikoum Salaam !" after which, " Mashallah !" and 
when the guest is seated, they salute again in turn, 
while the right hand is brought to the flowing beard, 
and these courtesies are wafted between the several 
parties. Conversation grows animated between them, 
and is kept up until midnight ; even the squint-eyed 
Mussulman grows eloquent in his recital of oriental 
tales of travel. All the speakers appear earnest and 
attentive, and their action easy ; whilst the full, pleas- 
ing sound of Turkish, falls in forcible contrast with 
the cracking and guttural Arabic. Their action is so 
good and efficient, that one understands, although igno- 
rant of their language. As they exclaim " Mashallah !" 
with wonder and surprise, you feel yourself the full 
force of its expression, and wonder at a thing so 
strange. 

The next day I was surprised by a visit from a 
countryman, who had been up the river to Cairo, and 



RELEASE FROM QUARANTINE. 289 

was on his return to Italy. From him I was able to 
learn the progress of my friends, who had preceded me 
with my trunk to Alexandria. 

Hugh Ravens was one of those tall beings who 
required extra accommodations for his person; and 
finding no boat on the Nile large enough to admit him 
upright, he became disgusted with the vacuity of the 
country, the flat lands and drifting sands of the desert, 
or the aboriginal likeness of the native women with 
our Indians. 

From him I caught a slight idea of that land from 
which I had been debarred by the Lazaretto, and was 
informed that the Pyramids were about eight miles 
from Cairo ; and that there were some thirty parties 
of Americans and English already up the river. He 
left that day for Malta. 

Thus we had been cooped for ten days, eating with 
our fingers, sleeping on the floor among Arabs and 
Turks, and passed the dull round of existence without 
variety or change. Had it not been for the Jew and 
his family, I should have been separated from the world 
around ; but by the aid of Spanish, I was enabled to 
convey my ideas, and by this medium to make some 
progress in the language of the Egyptians, and to lay 
the foundation of a stock of phrases, which afterwards 
was of great service on the Nile. 

On the tenth day our release was announced to us, 



290 



OUTSIDE. 



when we leaped for joy at the thoughts of a speedy 
liberation. It was amusing to see the eager anxiety 
of all to depart, for even before day our rooms were 
emptied and our luggage arranged in the court below, 
ready for the inspection of the health officer. 

Presently the doctor came in, and we were arranged 
in rows, whilst he passed our tongues in review ; in 
the meanwhile, a mysterious looking bundle of clothes, 
shrouding the features of a Nubian female, entered the 
ward of the women, and personally inspected their gar- 
ments and their persons. 

Having been perfectly satisfied of our sound condi- 
tion, and our freedom from contagion, these officers, 
who had treated us with such contempt during our 
pratique, then congratulated us on our restoration to 
society ; and shaking us cordially by the hand, wished 
us a happy visit to Alexandria, and a hearty welcome 
to the land of the Nile. 




The Land's End. 



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